By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Tuesday, May 12, 2015, 11:55 p.m. –– The Bardstown Police Department needs to replace its existing department-issued semi-automatic handguns after cracks were recently discovered in the guns’ frames, making them unsafe for officers to use.
At Tuesday’s Bardstown City Council meeting, Officer Brad Gillock showed the council members several Glock .40 S&W caliber handguns that had cracks in the frame, making them unsafe to use. Gillock said the problem came to light after he was inspecting some of the department’s weapons following a semi-annual firearms qualification.
Gillock said he noticed several weapons had cracked frames. He eventually inspected all the department’s weapons and found 12 Glock handguns that had to be taken out service immediately. With those 12 guns out of service, the department had no additional handguns to issue to its officers — or to replace other service weapons that might be found to have defects. Gillock told the council he gave his department-issued weapon to a fellow officer and is using his own personal handgun as his sidearm.
Councilman Bill Buckman said the Glocks were purchased some 14 years ago when he was on the city police force. At the time, the police department moved from 9mm weapons to .40 S&W caliber handguns.
The department will need to purchase 30 handguns at a cost of about $12,300, Gillock said. The council members
“Mayor, we need to go ahead and make this happen, for the security of our officers and our constituents,” Councilman Roland Williams said. Councilwoman Kecia Copeland and Councilmen Francis Lydian and Fred Hagan agreed the department should go ahead and purchase the replacement weapons.
Before the department orders replacement weapons, Gillock said they want to do some ballistics testing to compare the .40 S&W caliber round versus a 9mm round. Some police agencies who have used the larger .40 S&W round have moved back to the slightly smaller 9mm round, he explained.
Buckman told the council the defective weapons have little value as-is, but if the department has them refurbished, their sale could help recoup a portion of the cost of the new weapons.
The council also discussed the need to add an additional police cruiser to the 2015-16 budget after one of its current cars was totaled in the Mother’s Day officer-involved shooting incident on Parkway Drive.
Lydian suggested purchasing a replacement vehicle immediately rather than wait for the new budget year to start on June 1. “This is a priority and if we need to we can amend the (current) budget,” he said.
JASON ELLIS PROCLAMATION. The council also heard a proclamation signed by the mayor to make May 25 “Officer Jason Ellis Day,” and ask that government offices and area businesses fly their flags at half staff.
NUISANCE ORDINANCE. The council approved first reading an ordinance updating the city’s existing nuisance ordinance that addresses junk cars and open burning. The move is to make the ordinance less vague when it becomes necessary to take an individual to court.
The new ordinance states that storage of junked, abandoned or inoperable vehicles on property in the city for more than 10 days constitutes a nuisance. If the nuisance isn’t removed, the has a right to store and dispose of the vehicles in accordance with state law.
The revised ordinance adds a $100 fine that may be assessed individuals found in violation of the city’s open burning regulations.
In other business, the council:
— approved the 2015-16 municipal road aid agreement, which allows the city to receive state road maintenance funds generated by the gas tax.
— approved first reading of a rezoning request from for a one-acre tract at 202 South Fourth St. from R-3 Multi-Family Residential to P-1 Professional Office District. The tract is adjacent to the medical offices at 202 South Fifth St.
— appointed Keith West to the Bardstown Historical Development Corporation, the Spalding Hall committee, for a three-year term. West replaces Joe Hutchins, whose appointment expired in April.
— issued a proclamation naming Janice Lear as curator of the one-room log schoolhouse on South Fourth Street by the Pioneer Cemetery. Lear, a member of the John Fitch Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, has spent years educating visitors about the significance of the school in local history.
NEXT UP. The Bardstown City Council will next meet at 7 p.m. May 26 in the City Hall annex on Xavier Drive.
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