Pinal County AZ Sheriff Paul Babeu has consistently said his deputies are outgunned by drug cartels. Now he’s asking for private citizens to donate $200,000 to arm 200 deputies with semi-autos. He says asking the feds or country supervisors for the money would take too long.
Is he grandstanding? No. One of his deputies was killed recently in the desert presumably by narcos, and he has previously said that they, not US law enforcement, control parts of the desert in his county. There have been high speed chases and shootouts too. The cartels do have automatic weapons. One deputy spent $3,000 of his own money for an assault weapon.
It’s getting crazy.