Norwegian Police Officers Rarely Carry Guns

Michael Schwirtz at The New York Times:

Whether Officer Berntsen tried to stop the gunman is still being debated. But facing a man carrying multiple guns and ample ammunition, there was little he could do. Like most other police officers here, he had no weapon.

The naïvety of this policy is saddening.

“Criminals are now carrying weapons, so some people now think that police officers should have weapons as well,” said Gry Jorunn Holmen, a spokeswoman for the Norwegian police union. Though she said it was too early to make any assessments, Ms. Holmen said the union had formed a commission to explore the issue. For the police, she said, “it’s getting tougher.”

It’s amazing how a political viewpoint can cloud common sense in such a destructive way. Does Norway really not trust their finest to carry a weapon? Are their law enforcement officers so poorly behaved that they can’t be trusted with a firearm?

Pro tip, Norway: criminals have always carried weapons, and they always will. Arm your police officers (and your citizens) and you will all be safer for it.