Pubdate: Tue, 13 Jun 2006
Source: Newsday (NY)
Copyright: 2006 Newsday Inc.
Contact:  http://www.newsday.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/308
Author: Rocco Parascandola

COPS ON ALERT FOR FLASHLIGHT GUNS

Narcotics cops investigating a drug crew in the Bronx made a 
startling discovery -- a gun disguised as a flashlight, law 
enforcement sources said.

The recent find is the latest example of homemade weapons popping up 
on city streets, Newsday has learned.

Several police sources noted that the attention law enforcement pays 
to removing illegal guns from the streets, has forced criminals to 
improvise and find ways to conceal weapons.

The disguised weapons, sources said, allow criminals, particularly 
drug dealers, to stay armed without raising much suspicion.

The one-shot flashlight gun, as Police Commissioner Ray Kelly noted 
in a departmental order issued last week to each NYPD command, 'has 
the appearance of a flashlight but is capable of firing a round.'

'Officers should be cautioned to use extreme vigilance and remain 
alert for dangerous weapons that may be disguised as ordinary items,' 
Kelly's order stated.

The flashlight gun was seized during a recent narcotics raid in the 
Bronx. The NYPD would not provide more details about the seized 
weapon because of the pending investigation. It was not clear if the 
flashlight gun fires its bullet by flicking the on/off switch or by 
some other means.

The Pennsylvania Municipal Police Officers' Education & Training 
Commission issued a similar alert recently about flashlight guns, 
though the ones they warned about are slightly different than the 
ones the NYPD highlighted. On its Web site, the commission warned of 
a working flashlight capable of firing a .410 round as well as a 
miniature version, which fires a .380 round.

Police routinely update members of the force about new developments 
on the streets in New York City and elsewhere, including disguised 
weapons and tricks used by drug dealers to hide their product.

A recent missive described a rapid-fire pistol disguised as a cell phone.

The shooter, the order noted, could fire up to four rounds by 
pressing the numbers 5, 6, 7 or 8. So far, this type of weapon has 
been found only overseas.

Other items turned from the pedestrian into the deadly, not 
necessarily as guns, include combs and lipstick holders, all of which 
have turned up in the city.

One NYPD officer, Sgt. Craig Meissner, in 2002 detailed in a book 
about hidden contraband numerous other makeshift weapons that look 
like something out of a James Bond movie.

The weapons, recovered by police in cities here and abroad, include 
guns fashioned out of beepers and bike pumps.

Those are fairly ordinary compared to other items Meissner discovered 
in his research. His list included cane guns and umbrella guns, the 
latter of which could fire pellets dabbed with ricin, a lethal toxin.
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