As gun control advocates target AR-15s, one police force is displaying theirs more publicly than ever.
Motorcycles for the Tempe (Arizona) Police Department will now come with upright mounts for semi-automatic rifles.
The AR-15s will be highly visible on the back of the motorcycles, as a show of force from the police department to keep the community safer.
Sergeant Ronald Elcock told ABC 15 that motorcycles are quicker than patrol cars to the scene of a crime and should be properly equipped.
“We don’t want to go into those situations where we aren’t able to keep the public safe,” said Elcock. “There’s a locking mechanism that would prevent anyone, except for the operator, to be able to get at the equipment.”
Elcock admitted in the interview that the rifles may scare some.
“There are people that may be scared to see it,” the officer said. “However when we explain to them the reason why we have it I think it puts them a little bit more at ease.”
Motorcycle officers were previously armed only with handguns.
Many attendees at the March For Our Lives called for the banning and confiscation of AR-15s.