Detroit Police Chief James Craig said he believes the off-duty officers attending the Route 91 Harvest Festival should have been allowed to carry their weapons after a mass shooting left 58 dead and at least 515 injured.
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"I'm told they (off-duty officers) were not allowed to bring in their firearm. That is a problem for me," Craig said during a press conference Monday morning.
Craig has been a proponent in the past of allowing off-duty cops to carry their weapons at different events, and praised the MLB for allowing them to do so. He also bashed the NFL for their rule that doesn't allow off-duty officers, including federal agents, to not bring their firearms in.
"In these times we're in right now, we have to find ways to mitigate threats," he added. "We have to consider the off-duty officer as a force multiplier.
"We have to start thinking on risk mitigation. We need to think about force multipliers and the only way we do that is to think about off-duty officers."
Stephen Paddock, 64, opened fire from the 32nd floor of the nearby Mandalay Bay hotel during the final act of the festival. He killed himself prior to officers entering his room.
Inside, they found a cache of weapons that included 10 rifles, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said.
