REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
February 27, 2020
FROM: ANDREW J. HALL, Chief of Police
Police Department
BY: LYDIA CARRASCO, Police Deputy Chief
Police Department
SUBJECT
Title
Approve an agreement between the City of Fresno and ProForce to purchase 900 Glock pistols and holsters in the amount of $329,179.25
Body
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the council authorize the Chief of Police to enter into an agreement with ProForce to purchase 900 Glock pistols and holsters in the amount of $329,179.25.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Recently, the Fresno Police Department (FPD) participated in a duty pistol refurbish program with Beretta. When the program was agreed upon, only internal spring replacement was contracted, as this appeared to address the immediate issues of spring fatigue and failure that was initially identified. To date, FPD has 315 duty pistols that have been refurbished. During the process, we have discovered a new issue: excessive and sporadic trigger pull which has caused some officers difficulty during their quarterly qualification. Furthermore, the visibility of the “night sights” has significantly diminished due to the duty pistols reaching the end of their service life. FPD has looked into the cost of replacing the entire trigger group mechanism; however, the replacement part has been discontinued and is no longer available. The industry standard for a law enforcement duty pistol is an eight to ten year service life. The FPD duty pistols were purchased in 2010 and have met their service expectation.
The FPD training unit tested and evaluated five industry standard duty pistols derived from data through the Major City’s Chief’s Association (MCCA) 2019 survey. The manufacturers represent nearly all of the duty pistols currently used by law enforcement agencies nationwide. These pistols are consistent in caliber (9mm), size, weight, and overall capabilities. It is noteworthy the costs below include installed illuminated “night sights.”
EQUIPMENT PRICING:
During the testing and evaluation process, the FPD training unit formed a committee to assist with the selection. Overall, FPD has selected the Glock 9mm duty pistol which has been determined would meet the department’s current and future needs. The Glock duty pistol has been in existence for over 30 years, is used world-wide, and is carried by 65% - 70% of law enforcement agencies across the nation. The price of the duty pistol is $481.00. The purchase agreement and price will be achieved using a competitively bid contract from the County of Orange. The contract with the County of Orange and cooperative purchase process has been reviewed by the City of Fresno Purchasing Manager and determined to meet the City’s requirements for competitive process.
In order to outfit all personnel and have a limited quantity in inventory (for new hires, replacements due to repair, lost/stolen or OIS involvement), we would need to acquire 900 pistols. Considering the cost of $481 dollars per gun, the total purchase for the pistols would be $432,900 plus tax (7.975%) totaling $467,423.78.
ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT - PISTOL HOLSTER:
We would also be required to purchase new duty belt retention holsters, as each holster is specifically designed to a specific make/model handgun. Fresno police would use the same model holster that we currently issue for the Beretta PX4 Storm (Safariland 6280) and total cost for replacement holsters would be $72,846.00 plus tax ($80.94 per holster for 900 total holsters required), totaling $78,655.47.
ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT-TRADE IN
ProForce Law Enforcement has agreed to purchase the Beretta PX4 Storm duty pistol @ $240.00 each (900 @ $240.00= $216,000.00). ProForce has also agreed to purchase the duty holster @ $1.00 each (900@ $1.00= $900.00) for a total credit of $216,900.
COSTS APPLIED:
+ $ 467,423.78 (900 new service pistols)
+ $ 78,655.47 (900 new holsters)
- $ 216,000.00 (trade-in 900 service pistols)
- $ 900.00 (trade-in 900 service holsters)
= $ 329,179.25 (Total)
BACKGROUND
FPD’s current in-service duty pistol is the .40 caliber Beretta PX4 Storm which has been FPD’s duty pistol for ten years. The industry standard life span for a police duty pistol is eight to ten years. In November 2018, FPD entered into a refurbishing program with the manufacturer to replace the internal springs of our duty pistols. The goal of the refurbishment was to save money by extending their service life, but this has proven ineffective. The process is slow and time-consuming, with an estimated completion date of late 2021.
Currently, 315 of the 900 duty pistols have been refurbished. Many of the service pistols have been returned and still do not meet factory specifications. In refurbished and non-refurbished pistols, the most notable issue is an excessive, inconsistent, or sporadic trigger pull. This has caused several officers to have difficulty meeting their quarterly range qualifications, raised officer safety concerns, and potentially exposes FPD and the City to liability. FPD has explored the feasibility of replacing each trigger group; however, they have been discontinued and are no longer available. Additionally, the illuminating “night sights” have begun to fade due to age and exceeding their life span of ten years. The cost to replace the sights on our existing weapons would exceed $110,000 plus installation.
FPD has tested and evaluated firearms that represent the duty pistols for nearly all law enforcement agencies nationwide, and we are requesting approval of funding to allow FPD to transition to a new duty pistol.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
This is not a “project” for the purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference was not implemented because this is a cooperative purchase using another government agency’s contract.
FISCAL IMPACT
The cost to purchase the 900 pistols and holsters will have a fiscal impact to the FY 20 General Fund budget in an amount not to exceed $329,179.25.
City Council approved $113,500.00 from carryover funds to be used towards the purchase of new firearms. This approval and allocation of carryover funds occurred during the February 13th Council meeting. City Council directed the City Manager and Mayor’s Office to find the remaining funding within the City’s budget.
The remainder of the funds to purchase the firearms and holsters ($215,679.25) will be paid by using funds originally budgeted for the initial lease payment originally allocated for Police Department vehicles. Due to a delay in the receipt of these vehicles, caused by manufacturer platform changes to accommodate hybrid technology, this lease payment will be deferred until FY21. There is no change in the total cost of the vehicles.
The Police Department will also use funds from the vehicle lease payment to purchase ammunition for training and familiarization with the new service pistol in the amount of $61,221.83.
Attachments:
ProForce Purchase Quote
County of Orange Glock Firearm Contract