A Closer Look at Harper's Guns and Ammo

I've written extensively about CSAU, the militaristic training program run by Joseph Garcia, but not much much about the accompanying firearms and munitions the Jail is buying. This is largely because I just don't know enough about firearms to have a lot of great insight. I decided to look up the specific products that Warden Harper asked for though, just as a layperson, and what I saw was disturbing enough for me to write about. 

So-- this is a spotlight on the contracts with Lightfield ("less lethal" ammunition) and KelTec (firearms).

Lightfield

Warden Harper requested 100 buckets of ammunition at the cost of $95,000 in the Lightfield Contract. Lightfield's webpage on its line of Law Enforcement products lists two product types: Less Lethal, and Agency Wildlife Control. Why are they both on the same page? And does listing them separately suggest that the Wildlife Control line is not designed to be "less lethal?" There's not much clarification available on their website, as the only images of these products are small thumbnails and most of the products do not have their own web page. 

I looked at the specific products he chose, and found that two of the ammo types Harper requested are listed under the "Wildlife Control" section.

Harper requested 5 types of Lightfield ammo.

The Wildlife Control Products purchased by Harper:

Midrange Slug

"A patented design available only through Lightfield. The black 130 gr. slug @ 550 fps will accurately target problem wildlife for safe and effective aversive conditioning. This load has been used thou-sands of times against bears and other large animals across the US and Canada."

Extended Range Rubber Slug

"The same patented design as our mid-range slug, colored Blue for user identification and at 650 fps. This load is intended to deposit higher levels of kinetic energy at longer distance than any other load available. This load permits aversive conditioning at distances well beyond the norm, and provides enough [kinetic energy] to move large animals at greater distance."

This ammunition is meant for animals. It is not for use on humans. There is no other way to say it. 

The remaining 3 types of ammunition Harper requested are at least intended for use on humans. But they are by no means safe for humans.

SuperStar

"The SuperStar is a close-range less lethal impact projectile intended for direct fire at targets between 2 and 15 yards. The user should only target large muscle groups and soft tissue from the abdomen and below. Always avoid targeting the head, neck, thorax, spine, kidney area and groin as serious injury or death may occur."

StarLite

"The StarLite is a close-range less lethal impact projectile intended for direct fire at targets between 1 and 10 yards. The user should only target large muscle groups and soft tissue from the abdomen and below. Always avoid targeting the head, neck, thorax, spine, kidney area and groin as serious injury or death may occur."

NOVA-DR

"The NOVA- DR is intended as an indirect fire diversionary load. It should never be fired directly as persons or pets. Muzzle blast is similar to a hand thrown NFDD and can cause injury or death."

An NFDD is a "Noise Flash Distraction Device"-- a flash grenade. That thumbnail image and that description is the only information available on the site about this clearly dangerous product. 

In Harper's request for purchase, he wrote that Lightfield was the only vendor that could meet the Jail's needs because "other shotgun ammunition options cannot be used in close range and manufacturer specifications indicate minimum safe distance is 35 feet plus." 

The StarLite and SuperStar design are "intended for direct fire at targets" between 1 and 10 yards or between 2 and 15 yards, respectively, but there is no minimum safe distance listed for the other 3 products. As the name suggests, the Extended Range Rubber Slug is actually specifically designed for long distance use (on bears). Harper doesn't even bother to provide a reason why he might "need" those items.

KelTec

KelTec has been making firearms since 1991, under the "guiding principle that these machines should be "innovative in their design and exciting to use." Harper requested 35 guns: 16 of the RDB rifle model, 16 of the KSG shotgun model, and 3 of the KS7 shotgun model. Although Harper has purchased only so-called "less lethal" ammunition (as far as I know), these KelTec guns are perfectly capable of firing live ammunition too.

See images of the guns from the KelTec digital catalog:

KelTec catalog pages by Allegheny JOB Watch

In Harper's request for purchase, he wrote that:

"With the passing of Chapter 205 Allegheny County Jail Article 30 and 31 the ACJ has had to identify other tools for use on special response team that are non-chemical ammunition... This equipment is to be used under the ACJ new special response unit that is being developed and trained as direct response to Chapter 205." 

So there you have it in plain English-- Harper is quite literally replacing the mace with shotguns. It's not subtext, it's just text.

It is so so important that we stop this from happening. Please continue to contact ACE Fitzgerald and other members of the Board, and be sure to submit comments and questions for the September Jail Oversight Board meeting. Submissions open Wednesday 8/25.

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A note on Sole Source Contracts

Normally when the Jail or Department of Human Services or any other Allegheny County agency needs to buy something they have to solicit bids or proposals from the public. This is called a competitive bidding process because the County compares different vendors and chooses the service with the highest cost-benefit ratio. It's pretty analogous to a job posting-- putting a call for candidates, then you choose from among applicants to find the best fit. These kinds of contracts are public, because how else are you gonna get people to submit bids?

However, sometimes the product or service required is unique from others on the market or is so highly specialized that there aren't other manufacturers producing it. In that case the agency can request to cut to the chase and just hire the specific vendor they need without going through a bidding process; that's a Sole Source contract. Makes sense that there would be times when it doesn't make sense to go through a competitive process, there's nothing inherently sketchy about the existence of Sole Source contracts. 

When the Jail does it though........ Skipping competitive bidding allowed the Jail to avoid public scrutiny (at least for a while) about these contracts. It allowed Harper to complete some light paperwork and wait for the County to sign off. Which the County did.