Police Officers Are Authorized to Buy Army Weapon

09/13/2017 - 12h03

The Army command has authorized civil and military police officers across the country to buy 9mm caliber pistols, used by the Armed Forces and considered one of the most lethal weapons in the world.

The authorization for private use, according to the Army, meets the request of entities linked to the police and occurs in the midst of a serious national security crisis in which off-duty officers have been murdered by criminals.

In Rio, for example, more than 100 Military Police officers have been killed this year.

Requested by the officers, this authorization is seen with some concern by supervisory bodies.

To lieutenant colonel Márcio Tadeu Anhaia Lemos, 51, of the São Paulo Military Police, the authorization of private use of 9mm pistol was an old plea of security agents, especially to try to cope with the criminals' powerful weapons.

The Military Police, the Federal Highway Patrol and the Federal Police were already allowed to buy 9 mm for their troops, but not for private purposes - this now changes.

For personal use, they could already buy pistols as 380.40 and up to .45, but none of them are so lethal. The municipal guards are excluded from this permission.

Translated by MARINA DELLA VALLE

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	George Frey/Reuters
	A man fires a Taurus Millennium 9mm in Utah; in Brazil, the Army command has authorized civil and military police officers to buy 9mm caliber pistols