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>> PEGGY: California banned assault weapons in 1989 at an elementary school in Stockton,
they also band large ammunition magazines, here with the groups take on the violence
is San Diego's chief of police, William Landsdowne. Police officers are on the front lines when
it comes to gun violence, how often and what kind of fire power do they face here in San
Diego? >> We're seeing an increase in the types of
weapons and the quality of weapons that we face on a dally basis in the city of San Diego
and I'm an advocate that we need some kind of assault weapons ban across the nation because
even though we have a ban here in California they can go across state lines and get those
weapons and bring them in. We have had two shootings, one was on Halloween,
a person was armed with an M 14, a military grade weapon that punches through our bullet
proof vests, he fired six shots and we were lucky the officers returned fire and put him
down and this week a person committed suicide and confronted officers with an AR 15.
>> PEGGY: Is it difficult to enforce gun policy here in San Diego in cities if you don't have
that national policy in place? >> Well, it makes the access of those guns
quickly and easily available to people even though there is a ban hear you can't buy it
in California you can go across the state line and bring them back.
>> PEGGY: You told us about the two deaths, what about gun related injuries, either to
your officers or to the public? How has that been going?
What's the situation with that right now? >> I have a personal stake in this, I have
lost several officers in my career of 47 years and the officers in many cases face people
better armed than they are, which puts them as a tremendous disadvantage.
They have a handgun and they're facing somebody with an assault weapon and that puts them
at great risk and we need to manage that for the officers and the community that we serve.
>> PEGGY: What gun regulations would you support as far as background checks, assault weapons?
>> Where I would like to go nationally and I think New York just passed one in their
state is to ban assault weapons with a good definition so we all know what an assault
weapon is, I think that high capacity magazines immediate to be ban from importation and sales
throughout the nation, better background checks. We have the database capability to do that
and it needs to be enforced nationally to be able to manage a lot of the gun issues
that we have. In San Diego, we have seen a 50% increase
over the last three years in mental health calls that we go to.
It needs to be addressed quickly and needs to be addressed by a courageous president
and I think he's going to do that tomorrow. >> PEGGY: The national rifle association says
that arming more citizens and if everybody had a gun we would be safer but they have
said that strict gun regulations don't cut down on the number of home sides, as a police
officer do you believe that's true? >> Not at all.
For every homicide that we have there are three people shot with weapons.
The only difference between a homicide and the shootings across the country is aim in
the pros but when they say that they don't talk to the mother that has to put their children
in a bathtub at night to protect them from stray rounds being shot off in the neighborhoods.
There is plenty of information that shows the fewer guns the less suicides, shootings
and home sides that take place. >> PEGGY: We were out of time, thanks for
sharing your insight on this and I want to let people know I will be back with another
viewpoint about protecting second amendment rights.