The New York City Police Department is one of the largest police organizations in the world, employing over 50,000 people to police a population of over eight million. It’s a massive police department with a long and storied history. As a gun guy, I’ve always been fascinated by the weapons issued by police forces, and I’ve been working hard to catalog the firearms issued by the NYPD. Believe it or not, finding a definite source on NYPD-issued firearms is tough.
Today, I’m attempting to catalog the firearms issued by the NYPD to the best of my ability. It bears mentioning that there are two types of NYPD sidearms: issued and approved. In researching this article, the two were often interwoven, and it was tough to find out what was approved and what was issued.
The department’s sidearms are quite varied, ranging from the average beat cop duty gun to the smaller firearms often carried by detectives and admin staff. I’ve separated the two to make it a bit easier to understand who had what and why.
The Beat Cops
The First Sidearm: The Colt New Police in .32 Colt
Before 1896, NYPD officers had to provide their firearms for duty. When Theodore Roosevelt became the NYPD Police Commissioner, he pushed for a standardized firearm, the Colt New Police Revolver in .32 Colt. This six-shot compact revolver fired a fairly small and somewhat anemic .32 caliber cartridge. At the time, the Colt New Police was modern with its double-action design and hand ejection side loading cylinder.
The First .38s: S&W 38 Hand Ejector Model 1905 and Colt Police Positive
In the early 1900s, Colt and S&W began producing .38 caliber revolvers. S&W produced the .38 S&W, and Colt produced the .38 Colt New Police. These were the same cartridge for all practical purposes, but Colt used a flat-nosed bullet for their load.
The NYPD moved to the larger .38 S&W caliber with the S&W .38 Hand Ejector Model 1905 and the Colt Police Positive. Both were traditional double-action revolvers with side-loading cylinders and hand ejectors. The gun served for a fairly short period.
The Classic .38s: The S&W Model 10 and Colt Offical Police
The .38 S&W wasn’t a great cartridge and was a bit outdated by the time the NYPD adopted them. The hotter, more powerful .38 Special became the standard cartridge of the NYPD and for police departments around the country. Alongside the .38 Special, the NYPD adopted the S&W Model 10 and Colt Official Police.
The S&W Model 10 is an evolution of the earlier 1899 Hand Ejector series, which went on to have many names and models. The Colt Official Police was a direct competitor to the Model 10. Both of these revolvers have armed countless police forces for decades. They were six-shot hand ejectors with 4-inch barrels and wood stocks. They represent the classic American police revolver.
The NY-1s: S&W Model 64, Ruger Police Service-Six, Dan Wesson Model 11
The NYPD still liked the .38 Special cartridge but in the 1970s, wanted to update their revolvers. The Model 10 and Official Police were well-worn and more modern, stronger revolvers were available. The NYPD purchased three revolvers: the S&W Model 64, the Ruger Service-Six, and the Dan Wesson Model 11.
All three of these revolvers were double-action-only models in .38 Special. They represented a more modern revolver with modern durability, and both the Ruger and S&W were stainless guns. The Dan Wesson was a blued model. The Dan Wesson was also the least popular of the three, with the S&W 64 dominating NYPD use. They were all known as the NY-1 revolvers.
The Early Autos: Glock 19, SIG P226, and S&W 5906
In 1986, the NYPD purchased 200 Gen 1 Glock 17s to test and evaluate, and by 1994, the automatics had taken over. The Gen 2 Glock 19 was selected, as were the S&W 5906 and SIG P226. The S&W and SIG are hammer-fired, while the Glock is striker-fired. The SIG and S&W were converted to DAO, and the Glock 19s fit with atrocious 12-pound triggers.
SIG and S&W’s guns featured metal frames, whereas the Glock 19 featured a polymer frame. All three guns utilized double-stack magazines and chambered the NYPD’s new standard 9mm cartridge. These three guns represented three of the most popular semi-auto pistols in the early 1990s, and even to this day, the Glock remains a popular choice.
The Current Issue: Glock 17 Gen 4
The current sidearm issued to NYPD officers is the Glock 17 Gen 4. It is a full-sized, striker-fired, polymer-frame pistol. The G17 historically uses 17-round magazines, but the NYPD requested 15-round magazines for the gun. The G17 Gen 4 guns are very modern pistols with rail systems for lights and enhanced ergonomics.
The Glock 17 did use the NY-2 12-pound trigger initially, but as of 2021, they are being issued with standard 5-pound triggers. This breaks over 100 years of 12-pound tradition but also coordinates with higher scores by Academy recruits.
Concealment Options
Detectives, admin staff, and high-ranking police officers often carried smaller, lighter guns that were more appropriate to their daily duties. These days, everyone is issued the Glock, but in the past, numerous small weapons were issued.
The First-Semi-Auto (Ever): Colt M1908
For a very short period of time New York Detectives were issued the Colt M1908 semi-auto pistol. These guns didn’t last long in duty, and it’s not clear why. These smaller automatics were likely the first automatics ever issued by a police department. The little guns were light and slim, very easy to carry in a plain clothes role.
The Chief’s Special: S&W Model 36
The Model 36 or Chief’s Special was a small frame, five-shot, .38 Special revolver. The weapon received its name via a vote at the International Association of Chiefs of Police. This small revolver was S&W’s answer to the Colt Detective Special and was extremely popular. The Model 36 served the NYPD for decades.
The Smaller NY-1: S&W Model 60
The S&W Model 60 was adopted to replace the Model 36 as part of the NY-1 series of revolvers. It was a double-action-only gun, and the only real difference between it and the Model 36 was the stainless steel finish and DAO design.
The Last Revolver: S&W 640
The last revolver issued by the NYPD was the S&W model 640. This double-action-only, five-shot revolver featured a concealed hammer and stainless steel finish. Much like the previous S&W revolvers, it was issued to admin staff and plainclothes police.
Police officer Walther Weaver carried a 640 on September 11th, 2001, where he heroically assisted in evacuating the World Trade Center. He unfortunately passed away when the South Tower collapsed.
The Modern NYPD
The NYPD currently issues the Glock 17 Gen 4, but there are still various Glock 19s, SIG P226s, and S&W 5906s out there. In 2016, the NYPD wanted to improve its holster selection and replaced its aging line of holsters with the Safariland 6360. This move modernized their holsters and added an entirely new level of safety to NYPD officers by increasing retention and protecting their sidearms. Over the years, the NYPD’s guns — and holsters — have changed and evolved to keep up with the times.
