Sheriff Demonstrates new AR15s, suppressors

The Stephens County Sheriff’s Office’s purchase of 26 AR15 rifles and 35 suppressors, along with several associated items such as slings, mounted flashlights and scopes, recently drew comment from county commissioners and members of the public after the invoices for the items appeared on the June 27 County Commission meeting agenda under the monthly “approval of invoices over $5,000” agenda item. 

The Sheriff’s Office invoices listed on the agenda included 41 Tactical slings, swivel clips and rail-mounted flashlights, and 26  AR15 lower portions for the Sheriff’s Office for $11,162; 26 AR15 upper portions for the Sheriff’s Office for $7,410; 35 suppressors for the Sheriff’s Office for $7,048; and 35 scopes for the Sheriff’s Office for $5,425.

According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, recognized as the Firearm Industry Trade Association, “AR-15-style rifles can look like military rifles, such as the M-16, but by law, they function like other semi automatic civilian sporting firearms, as they fire only one round with each pull of the trigger.” 

During discussion of the invoices for the guns and suppressors, Commissioner Chris Rickman asked if there was anyone from the Sheriff’s Office present to answer questions about the purchases. No representatives from the Sheriff’s Office were present. Rickman further questioned the need for the number of suppressors purchased, and described suppressors as “silencers.”

Commission Chairman Dennis Bell added that he was unaware of any other county in the state that gave every officer a suppressor for their weapon. 

County Attorney Brian Ranck pointed out to commissioners and meeting attendees that the funds used to purchase the items were already in the Sheriff’s Office budget, and therefore, commissioners are restricted, legally, from refusing to approve the expenditures. 

By law, County Constitutional Officers, which includes Clerk of the Superior Court, Judge of Probate Court, Sheriff, and Tax Commissioner, are allowed to freely determine how to spend their budgeted funds, without interference from the county commission, as long as the constitutional officer stays within their budget.

On Monday, July 3, Stephens County Sheriff Randy Shirley issued a press release regarding the purchase of the guns and suppressors, and invited members of the local media to a press conference and demonstration of the guns and suppressors. 

Shirley opened the press conference with a description of the weapons and armor currently used by Sheriff’s Office personnel, and explained his reasoning in equipping all officers with the long guns, instead of just the Special Response Team (SRT).

He stated, “a Stephens County Sheriff’s Office deputy is typically armed with a .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol and fitted with soft body armor. Our deputies arrive first at the scene of an armed bank robbery, an active shooter event, or an unknown violent crime situation where they do not have the time or luxury to wait for the arrival of tactically trained special operations units.”

He mentioned a number of national active shooter incidents, as well as the local incident in May on Valley Drive, and explained the nationwide trend of all deputies now being trained in active shooter protocols, as opposed to just SWAT or special teams.

“After Columbine, CO; Virginia Tech, VA; Newtown, CT; San Bernardino, CA; Orlando, FL; Las Vegas, NV, Sutherland Springs, TX; Parkland, FL, Uvalde, TX; Anderson, SC; Nashville, TN and now our recent active shooter on Valley Drive, waiting for a trained tactical unit, such as our Sheriff’s Response Team (SRT) is not an option,” he said. “Since eighty-five percent (85%) of school active shooter incidents occur in rural areas, deputies are now being trained to move in and engage the armed perpetrators immediately.”

Shirley explained that he had contemplated purchasing the weapons for a long period of time, but the local active shooter incident on Valley Drive in May was a deciding factor. 

Shirley played a portion of the video from the Valley Drive incident, taken from the officer’s camera, and said that the distance of the subject from the officers made their sidearms ineffective, and explained that the use of a long gun such as the AR 15 provides a much more efficient response in many situations. 

He stated, “In the absence of high-powered, high-capacity rifles, deputies called to confront high-risk situations operate at a distinct disadvantage. They are ill-equipped to confront felons armed with high-velocity shoulder weapons. The body armor deputies wear will be immediately defeated by rounds fired from these weapons. Their handguns are vastly inferior to the rifles being fired at them by the perpetrators. In the active shooter incident on Valley Drive on April 28th, 2023, the suspect was able to accurately fire over 17 shots with a semi-automatic rifle striking the deputies’ vehicles while one was struck in the leg. The suspect was able to do this from a distance well outside the effective range of the responding deputies’ duty weapons.” 

The sheriff’s press release given to members of the media states, “With changes in the perceptions and views in America, attacks against law enforcement have increased since 2017.  The FBI’s Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Injured (LEOKA) statistics show that nearly 24% of law enforcement officers were fatally shot by suspects with long guns. The statistics show that dangerous felons rely even more heavily upon long guns when confronting law enforcement in deadly force situations. These weapons in the hands of untrained and undisciplined shooters place the public at high risk for severe injury and death. Likewise, deputies are in grave peril when confronted by felons possessing this weaponry. This is especially true when they are outgunned upon arriving at a deadly encounter.”

Regarding the purchase of suppressors, Shirely stated the suppressors were not meant for stealth, as suppressors only muffle the sound of a gunshot, but cannot “silence” a gunshot. The purpose of the suppressors is not stealth, but the health and focus of the officers, he said, adding that the sound of a fired shot is louder than the takeoff of a jet’s engines. 

A suppressor is “nothing more than the muffler you put on your car,” said Captain Stephen Stewart, the lead firearms instructor for the Sheriff’s Office. Stewart added that protecting deputy hearing not only supports the safety and wellbeing of the officers, and aids focus and communication during an active-shooter encounter, especially in an inclosed space such as a school, but it also protects the Sheriff’s Office and the county from the legal costs of possible worker’s compensation claims filed by deputies. 

Suppressors are sometimes interchangeably referred to as “silencers,” which gives a false impression of their purpose and capabilities, Steward said. “The suppressor can only soften, not silence, a firearm’s sound, “ he said. “Hollywood portrays a falsehood. Probably the best way to say it is that the suppressors are OSHA-approved noise reduction devices.”

Stewart said the type of rifle the Sheriff’s office issues produces a sound that can reach 155 decibels or more. The suppressors the agency purchased, manufactured by Texas-based Witt Machine, reduce the noise level to around 134 decibels, which is still louder than a chainsaw buzzing. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration identifies any exposure to sound exceeding 140 decibels as creating a risk for irreparable hearing damage.

Members of the media were invited to witness a live demonstration, and the James A. Neal Training Facility in Toccoa, and Stewart demonstrated the firing of both the longer-barrel AR15s purchased for use at the courthouse and schools, and the shorter-barrel AR15s to be carried, locked and secured, in patrol cars. Each weapon was fired without the use of a suppressor, and then with the addition of the same suppressor purchased by the Sheriff’s Office. 

The sound is not the only concern with an unsuppressed rifle, Stewart said, but also the change in concussive energy near the gunshot. Suppressors slow the gas escape from the gun’s muzzle after a shot is fired, which has the added effect of lessening the thud to the chest and ears.

“It captures the majority of the pressure and sound, and that’s what we want,” Stewart said after firing several rounds from agency-issued rifles with no suppressor and with the suppressor attached. “That’s why we’re doing this.”

Shirley said that to ensure that deputies are proficient in the use and deployment of the rifles and accessories, they will be on the range monthly.

“With repeated use, the exposure to the potentially deafening sound is reduced by using the suppressors,” Shirley stated in the distributed press release. 

WNEG will continue to follow this story as new developments happen.