THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 28, 1994 TAG: 9412280434
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE AND LARRY W. BROWN, STAFF WRITERS
LENGTH: Medium: 89 lines
A new super bullet soon to go on sale nationally has but one purpose, ``and that's to kill someone,'' says Garth Wheeler, president of the Virginia Fraternal Order of Police.
And what he and other police officers fear is that they will be the principal targets of ``Rhino-Ammo.''
A version of the handgun bullet can pierce Kevlar, the bullet-stopping material used in police vests. Once inside the body, the bullet explodes with deadly results.
``I can see only two types of individuals wanting it,'' said Wheeler, whose organization represents 8,000 officers in Virginia, ``and that's law enforcement or criminals on the street wanting to do in law enforcement.''
He was encouraged, though, by word that many gun dealers are just as troubled about the new ammunition. Several local dealers said Rhino-Ammo won't be on their shelves.
``I certainly don't think there is a need for ammo that penetrates police-type vests,'' said Robert Marcus, owner of Bob's Gun & Tackle Shop in Norfolk. ``And I don't plan to have a store that sells that.''
Because it's made of plastics, the bullet squeaks past federal laws against the sale and manufacture of so-called ``cop killer'' ammunition. Generally, the law prohibits bullets that are Teflon-coated or made of certain alloys.
``Everyone tries to build the better mousetrap,'' Marcus said, ``and this gentleman has found a way to circumvent a law.''
Dick Brafford, manager of A&P Arms Co. in Virginia Beach, was equally adamant. ``No, I won't stock it. It's just not necessary. I don't need it,'' he said. ``Common sense would tell you not to carry something like that.''
Brafford said no one has called looking for the bullet.
``I don't think it's going to be that easy to get hold of,'' Brafford said. ``Most gun shops wouldn't carry it for what it does. We have enough problems on the streets now without putting something out that's an armor-piercing round.''
The Alabama manufacturer claims the bullet is a ``strictly defensive round'' for citizens to protect themselves.
``I don't buy that,'' said Mike Simpkins, a spokesman for the Suffolk police. ``These people are out for one thing - to sell and make money. That's what it's for.''
Repeated efforts to reach the company Tuesday were unsuccessful. The telephone company said their line was off the hook.
Packaging for Rhino-Ammo claims the bullet breaks into thousands of razor-like fragments when it strikes human flesh: ``Each of these fragments becomes lethal shrapnel and is hurled into vital organs, lungs, circulatory system components, the heart and other tissues. The wound channel is catastrophic. . . . Death is nearly instantaneous.''
A second version, called the Black Rhino, has a convex point designed to penetrate bullet-proof material such as Kevlar.
``It's tough enough for us to deal with the weapons that are on the streets already,'' said Larry Hill, Norfolk's police spokesman. ``But bullets such as this are not only destructive to the officers but also citizens.''
Many shootings are accidental and happen at home, Hill said. Still more are the result of domestic disputes that get out of control.
In those cases, Hill said, this bullet would virtually insure death - and murder charges instead of maiming charges.
Local police said that cases in which a person confronts and shoots an armed burglar or assailant are rare.
For officers, the concern is that they will be outgunned again. The new bullet, said Bobby Mathieson, president of the Virginia Beach Policeman's Benevolent Association, makes their vests obsolete.
``They need to do something up in Washington to deal with this. It's crazy,'' he said. ``Cops have a tough enough job out there without having an additional weapon of destruction against them.''
The maker says the bullets will be sold only to police and federally licensed firearms dealers. But the bullet will still slip through to people who should not have it, police said.
``Any time you have a product distributed across the United States, the probability of the wrong person getting their hands on it increases, even with the safeguards out for restricted sales,'' said G.A. Brown, Portsmouth's police spokesman. ``We totally oppose the utilization or the sale of this ammunition.''
Police want to take a look at the bullet, see if it lives up to the manufacturer's claims - and if there is any protection against it.
``We just heard about it, and we're in the process of gathering information,'' said First Sgt. Paul Kvasnicka, the training coordinator at the State Police Academy in Richmond.
``Anything that's new like that, we want to take a look at.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo of bullets - Black Rhino and Rhino-Ammo
by CNB