Until the late 1980s and early 1990s , most US police officers carried revolvers , typically in .38 Special or .357 Magnum calibers , as their primary duty weapons . At the time , Smith & Wesson , Colt , Ruger and some Taurus models were popular with police officers , most popular being the Smith & Wesson or Colt revolvers . Since then , most agencies have switched to semiautomatic pistols . Two key events influencing many US police forces to upgrade their primary duty weapons to weapons with greater stopping power and round capacity were the 1980 Norco shootout and the 1986 FBI Miami shootout
Norco shootout
Norco shootout
Law enforcement in the United States