Correspondence and Media Clippings RE: Use of Dum Dum Bullets

    The New York Times
V /̂,'T., > i'P ^ . i t T '7 'f  , '^-f ^ -Li \. i

First Dumdum Use Stirs 
Connecticut Controversy

Ry MtCHAEL KNIGHT
GREENWICH, Conn.. Sept. 25 fhp use of the new .357 mae- 

—The controversy over issuing num revolver and dumdums, 
Connecticut state troopers a said he was convinced more 
more powerful revolver erupted than e\er "that many indi\ i- 
again today following the first duals are going to be killed by 
shooting in which the new pis- this weapon.” 
tols were used. Two men were "u ’s absurd to permit the u.se 
killed and a third was wounded r>f weapons in a civilian situa- 
in the gun battle on the Con- tion, which are outlawded on 
necticut Turnpike here yester- foreign soil in times of war 
day. against our worst enemies." he

The three men allegedly be- -in effect, it enables the- 
gan firing at state and local po- police officer to be judge, jury, 
licemen who were que.stioning gnj executioner.” i

"We agree.”  he said, “ that 
there are .situations a hen a 
trooper needs to protect thim-j

them at a toll booth plaza ;n 
connection v/ith the rotibei-y of 
mourners returning from a
wake in Darien a few minutes t another party, but 

nevertheless we stress the need; 
to incapacitate, not to kill. By 
using a weapon such as this, all' 

with dumdum or expanding a summarv exe-i

before.
Critics of the nsw weapon, a

.357 magnum revolver loaded 
with dumdum 
bullets, called vesterdav’s you’ll have is a summary exe
shooting a confirmation to t h e i r ____
belief that the weapon would ‘ n®
lead to “ summarv executions.” ^

And state police officials who ordered the new revolvers, 
called the incident a successful issued in June, said that “ e in-, 
tpst of the new revolver and a cident had proved ^ ^
confirmation of its necessity officers in Greenwich yesterd^
against increasingly well armed were being shot at with scmiau-i 
and dangerous suspects.

The magnum pistol and the and they had to protect tn^ 
hollow-point bullets. Which ex- own lives he said That s the 
pand on impact, are more de- only situation in which tm 
structive of tissue than the allowed to shoo., and in that - 
standard .38 caliber police re- tuation they ought to have the 
volver. The bullets are banned best possible weapons, 
bv the Geneva Convention for "It’s a good feeling to '<[■0 
niilitarv' use on the ground that you haVe the best posslb e 
their use is inhumane. Thev are equipment when you re out 
capable of tearing gaping holes there with your neck on the 
and greatly complicating the line.”
recovery of anyone who sur- Although the weapons began 
wives such a shot. being issued m July, not one

William Olds, executive di- had been fired off the practice 
rector of the Connecticut Civil range oefore yesterday. The 
Liberties Union, which an- Connecticut state police a\er- 
nounced Monday mac it would age only two shooting incidents 
institute a court suit against a year. ________________ _

The New Haven Journal-Courier 
Sept. 25, 1974, at 4, col. 1
Troopers 
Face Gun 
Challenge
HARTFORD, (U P I)-  

The Connecticut Civil Liberties 
Union (CCLU) says it will test 
the constitutionality of the use 
by state police of .357 Magnum 
pistols with dum dum ammuni­
tion. The CCLU charged they 
inflict “ cruel and unusual 
punishment.”

Jersey Investigates Police Use 
Of Bullet Opposed by A ,C,L.U.

*D#rU! to Th» N*w Y<\rk

TRENTON— .Atlorney General country. One farinr leading tn 
William F. Hyland is investigat- concern is that ammunition has 
ing the use of a controversial been banned from mililarv we.a- 
power-point bullet that has pons hv International ag-ee- 
been adopted in recent months ment, because it w-as found tn 
by the state police and a grow- be inhumane, 
ing number of municipal police The police, however, adopted 
forces. the bullets because of their

The Attorney General’s office Rteater stopping power. They
has asked the state police to say tbis reduces the chance 
justify their recent switch to that an armed suspect will fire 
the more potent, hollow-nosed *. policeman after he
ammunition. He has called for a has been hit. 
summary of the police research The l.ROO members of the 
and statistics that led to the de- New Jersey State Police began 
cisinn. carrying the bullets after the

Mr. Vlyland ha.s jurisdiction 4afai shooting of a fellow troo- 
over all law e.^forcemert in liie P"'’ âst year on ilie .New ,i..-rsey 
state and would have the au- Jurnpike.
thority to recommend against The stale police cite studies, | 
use of the bullets. dating as far back as 1P59,

A spokesman for the Attor-^^'^^''^? that armed suspects 
nev General confirmed last able to stand up, fire hack 
week that the ammunition and flee after being hit by as 
question was under study as a jyany as .six standard .38 raii- 
result of a protest by the New ,,
Jersey chapter of the American the hqllow-
Civil Liberties Union. '""'^ed ..3S-caliber bullet, thev

say, was made under the for-
‘Greater Risk of Death’ meV State Police .Siipcrinten- 

The chapter has charged that David B. Kelly, as added
the bullet, which has a hollow Pjoyction for troopers on pa- 
tip and expands on impact tn 
twice its size, increases the 
chance of death.

police Clicec, ,p  In- fS o '„ '4 4 'e ’’, . ’ 7 p , T i : '> S ; „ 7
i.s now being reviewed in his of-

trnl.
Mr. Hyland has reportediv 

asked for records of the state 
hit is ballistics research so he

nocent bystander or an accused 
suspect.” said Stephen Nagler, 
executive director of the Jersey 
chapter, "there is a greater risk 
of death from a hollo w-pnint 
bullet— or extensive physical 
injury that can in now way he 
justified.”

Mr. Nagler held out the pos­
sibility of court action if the 
state "police continued to carry 
the hollow-nosed bullet.

1 rhe New Jersey civil liber­
ties challenge is the latest in a 
series of public disputes sur­
rounding the use of hollow- 
nosed bullets by police deparl- 
Jftenf5 in various parts of the

flee, and it iseuncerrain whelher 
he will .suggest any change in 
slate police policy.

The
at

CCLU Executive Director 
William Olds said the civil 
rights organization voted Mon­
day night to take the issue 
to the Court of Common Pleas 
next month.

It wfxild be the first such suit 
in the nation against the 
growing number of police 
agencies reportedly switching 
to the high velocity pistol with 
bullets banned in intematicnal 
warfare. Olds said.

New York Times, Sept. 27, 1974, 
^5, col. 1

Dumclums Found in Suspects’ Bodies
Tiie two hold-up suspects killed in a shootout on the 

Connecticut Turnpike in Greenwich on Tuesday afternoon 
were hit by a combination of standard .38-caliber bullets.
firnr^hy a 7;r7tnu,-ii-l< pnlircm an  ,llT?1 .h£_£aaJifli:eiAiai 
hew hollow-point dumdums fired by a Connecticut slate 
trooper, accorefing to "an autopsy reporfT

Dr. EllLotLjGrQSS. Connecticut’s Chief Medical Exanijiv 
er̂  saidTn his report, made public yesterday, that th.Q,n;na 
had_t_hree bullet wounds each but that it was inipos.'-ii^ 
4?i(Rtermrne“w}i[Hi tyipe of bTUlcThaircaiiscd three ot tjje 
sj.'^_wauilds. He said two standard .SS-caiiijcr bullets ,i-d 
One .3.57-r.s!'ber hollow-point magnum bullet and been •'e- 

■ moved Trom the body of Harold L. Jones, 37 years old, afid" 
Bobby^ Jackson, ,J8 years old, bojh of Brooklyn.



• W W P

' ■ ' ji  v ^ '' '

(hanil)or ofCONTROVFRSIAI. BULLET — Si\ liollowpoint biilleis lie in IIk  chanilier of a .U37 
niagmim haiulKiiii in the hands of Malcoini Clark, propritTor of .Middletown Gun World. 
The Indlet’s hollow lip gives it tremendous force on impact, making death and maiming 
more likely than with the regular .08 caliber revoher. (I’ hoto by Caple)

SATURDAY EVENING, AUGUST 3. 1
'» W

THE MIDDLETOV/N (CONN.) PRESS.

BY GENE BAR.\N.\USK.\S
in 3.000 years man has endur­

ed 15,000 wars.
But out of this brutality 

evolved a civilizing principle of 
Irehavior; Man could kill his fel- 
lowman, but not with unneces­
sary cruelty. He must use force 
that is necessary and propor­
tionate under the circumstances.

For State Police Commission­
er Cleveland B. Fuessenich, is­
suing the .357 magnum handgun 
and hollowpoint bullets to his 
men was in accord with this 
principle.

But for Jordan Paust, an au­
thority on the law of war and 
human rghts, the commissioner 
not only violated the principle, 
out the U.S. constitution and in­
ternational law which is binding 
on this country.

And, he has left the state po-

i/’s Too Cruel. 
Says OpposUum

lice and individual state police­
men vulnerable to suit in state 
and federal courts, said Paust.

(Los .Angeles police are pres­
ently facing a $2(2 million suit 
One of the grounds is that ex­
cessive force was used in kill­
ing a man with dum-dum 
(equivalent to hollowpoint) bul­
lets, said Paust.)

Paust is an associate profes­
sor of law at Houston Law 
School. .A former captain in the 
U.S. Army, he was once on the 
faculty of the U.S. Judge .Advo­
cate General’s School in Charlot- 
lesviLe, Va., where he taught 
Army lawyers and officers the 
law of war and human rights.

He also helped revise Army 
textbooks after the .My Lai ma.s- 
sacre in Vietnam.

His disagi'eement with Com­
missioner Fuessenich is not so 
much over the .357 magnum 
handgun as it is over the hol­
lowpoint bullet. The .357 could 
hre a regular .38 caliber bullet 
and not be anymore powerful 
man a regular .38 caliber gun.

But together with the hol- 
lownoirit. it forms an e.xcessively 
cnlel and inhumane weapon sys­
tem Paust said.

The bullet, fired at s'x or 
seven feet, could sever a man's 
arm, he claimed.

Police use of the weapon and 
bullet may become a nationwide 
controversy.

■An estimated 300 to 900 police 
fiepa.’-tments throughout the 
country are using the magnum 
a n d  hollowpoint bullets—and 
there are strong feelings for and 
against it.

In Connecticut, the Hartford 
C i t y  C o u n c i l  unanimously- 
passed a resolution against the 
weapon system, and the Episco- 
pa. Diocese of Connecticut has 
condemned it.

But Joseph .1. Mazzotta, direc­
tor of the International Broth­
el hood of Police Officers of Con­
necticut, said he was ‘ 'appalled 
and disgusted with the argu­
ments concerning the use of the 
.35'/.”

"Consider for the moment,” 
ne said, "the FBI statistics—500 
police officers killed from 19C9 
to 1973. Killed by criminals u.s- 
ing handguns, shotguns, rifles 
and other devious methods.

"Criminals are being har- 
i bored, protected and encouraged 
oy a few people who are claim­
ing to rept'cscnt people.

"But let us ask any of the 500 
■,vidow.-= of the slain officers and 
their children, why? /And they 
would respond; John was killed 
in the line of duty' protecting the 
people and the city in a job he

loved best,”  said Mazzotta, 
.Nevertheless, the Connecticut 

Civil Liberties Union (CCLU) 
has asked U.S. Senators Abra­
ham Hibicoff and Lowell AVei- 
cker to introduce legislation in 
CongTcss prohibiting the domes­
tic use of the magnum-hol- 
'owpoint system.

Paust, a consultant to the 
CCLU, stressed he is for police 
protecting themselves. They 
should be allowed to carry shot­
guns in their cruisers, he said. 
There may be instances when 
a shotgun is necessary.

He is opposed to the hol- 
lowpotnt as a standard issue to 
.re used in all .situations. He 
said, too, that police need public 
support to do their job.

People are more likely to give 
it. he said, if they know police 
are humane.

Propouenls Feel 
Police Need Best \
Though Middletown police use 

the regular .38 caliber bullet in 
a .38 handgun, and do not plan a 
change now, some local police- 
rren support the state police 
change.

As one officer put it: “ If a I1 
robber is coming out of a bank 
with a loaded shotgun, and all 
you got is this pea shooter (the 
.38), you Ixitter look for cover. 
One blasi from that shotgun and 
it’s all over ”

Weak .38
"Only a well-placed .38 bullet 

will stop him. But how many po-|, 
licemen can do that . . . under; 
that pressure? Not many,” !ie| 
said. i.

But one hollowpoint bullet 
fired from the .357 magnum 

(Continued On Page 5)



- 2 -

(Continued From Page 1)

would knock the robber to the 
ground even if it only hits him in 
the arm or leg, the policeman 
said.

His arm or leg, though, would 
probaoly be ruined for life, the 
politeman said.

But one commander, w h o  
wished to remain annonymous, 
had reservations. He has seen 
veieran policemen fire 20 wild 
shots out of 30 on the shooting 
range.

These misses occur at dis­
tances of 10 to 50 feet. This 
means that out of every five po­
lice bullets fired, two will go 
astray, endangering the lives of 
innocent bystanders.

If a bystander is hit, he has a 
much better chance of recov­
ering from a .38 wound than 
irom a hollowpoint, the police 
commander said.

Another point to consider is 
that the handgun, whether it be 
a .38 or the magnum, is only ac­
curate within 50 to 100 feet. .Af­
ter that it loses accuracy rapid­
ly-

State police pointed out that 
all troopers will have to pass 
qualifying tests on the shooting 
range to get the new weapon 
and ammunition, and they will 

'.nave to pass similar tests during 
‘ the year to keep it.

State Police Policy 
According to state police pol- 

•jicy. a trooper may fire his hand- 
■ i gun only in a life-and-death situ- 
' I ation. This happens two or three 

times a year.
 ̂I To justify his use of the weap- 
i|on, the trooper must be:
: i -  -defending his life or that of 
Ma brother trooper

—defending the life of an in­
nocent citizen

—protecting the life of a pris­
oner

—stopping a fleeing felon who 
IS known to be dangerous and a 
threat to life.

“ Under no circumstances will 
a trooper fire to stop someone 
fleeing from arrest on a mis­
demeanor charge, or on a 
charge of a non-dangerous fel­
ony,”  the state police spokes­
man said.

But when the trooper does pull 
his weapon and fires, he shoots 
to kill. Commissioner P’uessen- j 
ich said. The CCLU is opposed j 
to this policy, stating that “ less-  ̂
e r means of incapacitation 
should be used whenever reason­
ably possible.”

The hollowpoint, Paust states, 
is equivalent to the dum-dum 
bullet banned in war because 
its hollow, flatter nose and par­
tial copper jacketing cause it 
to expand on impact.

But there are differing views 
on the amount of its expan­
sion.

State police say the bullet ex­
pands to the circumference of a 
dime. Malcom Clark, proprietor 
of Cun World in Middletown, 
says this is not entirely correct.

The bullet will expand to the 
circumference of a nickel on hit­
ting a hard object like a human 
Ix/iie, he said.

And Paust claims the bullet’s 
design and velocity, about 60 per 

I cent greater than the .38, will 
j  create a gaping cavity in the hu- 
' man body.
I Moreover, weapons experts 
ifor the International Committee 
of the Red Cross state in a 1973 

i r e p 0 r t that the hollowpoint 
'creates secondary projectiles 
out of smashed bone matter, 

i  These bone slivers damage 
I more tissue within the body,
! Paust said.

The bullet has tremendous 
“ stopping power” , he explained, 
because of its ability to transfer 
a high percentage of its kinetic 

.energy.
1 Kinetic energy is the amount 
of energy inherent in a moving 

'object. A regular .38 caliber bul-
jiet will transfer about 20 per 
jcer.t of its kinetic energy to the 
Inumar body.
I But the hollowpoint, Paust 
said, will transfer up to 80 per 

I cent; thus no matter where it 
'hits a man, it is likely to knock 
him to the ground.

! It is this feature that has 
i made the bullet popular with po- 
ilice.
: Old Saybrook, for example,
has been using the magnum- 

j hollowpoint system for years. 
Clinton police are studying the 

i  matter, and East Hampton po­
lice use the regular .38.

Old Saybrook Police Chief 
j Edmund Mosca said that since' 
' his policemen can only fire the 
weapon to protect human life, 
they should have the “ most po­
tent weapon”  to accomplish 
 ̂that.
' He said to carry the mag­
num, his men have to qualify 

)0n the shooting range twice a 
year, and that in the near fu­
ture they will have to qualify 
four times a year.

Practice SluMiting
He conceded that the bullet 

does tremendous damage to the 
human body. But he said he 

' didn't care what effect it had 
, on a man's arm, when that 
same man had been a deadly 
threat to the lives of others.

While others in police work 
share Chiefs Mosca's view, a 
contrast exists in England 
where the gun has no place in 

i routine police work.
I The English Bobby doesn't 
i carry one. He is trained so well 
jhe can outrun and outfight 
j  most criminals, said Cliff Has- 
lam, a singer of sea chanteys 

j who came to this country from 
England several years ago and 1 now works in Middletown.

[ Only when a criminal is 
henown to be armed and dan- 
! gcrous are weapons issued to 
'police; then a large number of 
! armed policemen go after that 
.criminal, he said, 
j But if its rare for the ave- 
irage person to carry a gun in 
i  England why is it such a com- I  mon occurance in this coun- 
I try? Haslam feels one reason 
Hies in our history. From the 
I very beginning guns played a 
big part in our society.

The first settlers were armed, 
he noted, and the writers of 
the Constitution made it very 
clear in the second amendment 
that the “ right of the people 

ito bear arms shall not be in­
fringed.”

Carrying it a step further, 
reveals that pyschologists have 

icome up with a theory about 
why men carry weapons in the 

j  first place.
! The obvious answer is for 
i protection, but Dr. .lay Cud- 
;rin. a psychologist with Con­
necticut Valley Hospital, said, 
j “ In psychoanalytic theory,I  weapons are often seen as phal-1 
jlic substitutes,”  |

This theory holds, he said, 
ithat anything that increases 
’ one’s strength, one’s virility has 
a phallic connotation. Just as 

I the bow and arrow extended 
primitive man’s strength, so 

! the gun increases modern man’s 
i virility and masculinity, he 
1 said.
i Bullets with the character- 
listics of hollow-points were first 
: manufactured in Dum-Dum, In­
dia in the 19th century,

I Stops Fanatics
j  The Encyclopedia Britannica 
states that they expanded on im­
pact and created “ an ugly, 

. w o u n d ’ ’ “ They had been I 
adopted in Indian frontier fight-1 
irg owing to the failure of the j 
usual type of bullets to stop the! 
rushes of fanatical tribesman.” ! 

I the encyclopedia states.I  In an interesting aside, Paust 
isaid that in 1914 the German 
i ambassador complained to this 
country that Remington .Arms, 
the same firm making hol- 
lowfxiint.s now for Connecticut 
State Police, were selling hol- 
lov’points to the British.

I The ambassador feared that 
Hhe bullets would be used in war. 
But our government assured 
him they were only for hunting j 
animals. j

.\t <hat time, the bullets were! 
felt to be better sporting car-; 
t r I d g e s because they made i 
quick-death inevitable, Paust ‘ 
said. !

,\n international de&laration | 
was made at the second Hague; 
Confe’-ence. July 29. 1899. forbid-1 
ding the use of these bullets. i 

Though the United States d id : 
not participate in this declara-1 
tion. it was because we wanted; 
s t r o n g e r  restrictions, said i 
Paust. ,



- 3 -

At the second Hague Con­
vention in 1907, the United 
States delegation agreed to 1m; 
bound by the 1899 ban, said 
Paust.

Differing VieMpoints
Rut Commissioner Fuessenich 

holds that, “ The United States 
never ratified this declaration." 
indicating that it has little bear­
ing on domestic law enforce­
ment

I Jisut^Trepliereplied that ratification 
jsj o  . l i sa technical term meaning con- 

Igressional approval. The fact is 
I that this countrj' accepted the 
1 Hague ban on expanding dum 
cium type bullets.

As evidence of this. Paust said 
U. ,S. .Army texts beginning in 
'909 and continuing to this day 
prohibit the use of these bullets.

Put Commissioner Fuessenich 
said the Hague prohibitions “ ap- 
piv to projectiles fired from 
rifles with far'greater muzzle 
\etocily than any revolver."

Not so. said Paust. the prin­
ciples apply to any bullet.

He said, too. a strong tradition 
exists in this state and country 
against cruel punishment.

Ill Connecticut, as far back as 
16.)fl. there were laws prohibiting 
cruelty to human beings, and 
the Fighth Amendment to the 
constHution bans cruel punish­
ment

Nations have also agreed, 
through the 1949 Geneva Con­
vention, and other agree­
ments to prohibit summary exe­
cution. cruelty, torture and in­
humane treatment or injury, 

j The United States Supreme 
I Court has ruled that these niin- 
I cip'es are part of our law, Paust 
I said.
i But Commissioner Fuessenich 
I indicated that international law 
I is inconsistent. On the one hand.
I it allows all kinds of explosives.
I flamethrowers, rockets and 
' hand grenades, but on the other 
hand it bans expanding bullets. 

Few Banned
Actually, Paust commented, 

international law bans few 
weapons. They are allowed or 
orohibited depending on the 
force necessary in a given situ­
ation. ft is only when a weapon 
is considered cruel and in­
humane in virtually all w'ar situ­
ations that it is prohibited, he 
said.

The same standard of neces­
sary and proportionate force ap­
plies to police w'ork and police 
weapons, Paust said.

In making an arrest, for ex­
ample. a policeman may not 
strike a suspect who offers no 
re.sistance. And in killing a man, 
a policeman may not use force 
that is excessive and cruel.

To him, the .38 caliber hand­
gun and bullet offer sufficient 
deadly force; the magnum-hol- 
lowTXtint combination is ex­
cessive. But not according to 
Commissioner Fuessenich who

states that the .38 caliber types 
of bullet have either too much or 
too little penetrative power.

One type failed to penetrate 
an automobile tire and rico­
cheted off it, he said. Another 
type has too much penetrative 
power and can easily pass 
through a man endangering in- 
noceni bystanders.

Because state troopers must 
on occasion fire at a vehicle, 
they need a weapon wdth ade- 
qurnte penetrative power, but too 
much IS as bad as too little.

They also need a bullet with 
enough shock effect to prevent a 
man from returning fire. The 
combination of the .357 macnurn 
'.evolver with hollowpoint am­
munition meets these needs 
"better than any other available 
combination of weapon and am­
munition.”  Commissioner Fues­
senich said.

Rut Paust said such a general 
statement does not demonstrate 
necessity. In what specific 
cases in Connecticut was the .38 
inadequate? he asked. .A state 
police spokesman replied that 
they wouldn’t wait for a police­
man to be killed to demon­
strate this in adequacy.

But the Connecticut Civil Lib­
erties Union said that the state 
IM)lice haven’t shown with facts 
that the new weapon system will 
save the lives of state troopers, 
or better protect innocent by­
standers.



ti w :  ̂V£> u v ^ e 3 lG 3  ^*5^**^ e ^ s
By ED BU nm

United Press international
A growing number of United 

States p<ilice departments are 
using hollow-nosed bullets 
similar to the infamous “ Uum 
Dum”  outlawed in warfare for 
the last 75 years as an inhumane 
weapon.

The bullet is used in the 
powerful magnum .357 revolvers, 
being increasingly adopted by 
U.S. policemen in place of the 
standard .38 police special.

POLICE departments in at 
least 14 states have switched to 
the magnum or allow officers an ' 
option to use it.

( Madison police officers, a 
six)kesman said, lese ammunition 
technically labled “ minimum 
ricochet, maximum expansion, 
controlled ammunition.”  Such 
bullets, the spokesman said, are 
constructed similar to the 
hollow-nosed bullets but are not 
the same.)

The hollow-nosed bullet, which 
flattens and expands after pene­
trating its target and leaves a 
gaping wound, often is used by 
hunters for big game.

It first was made at the Dum 
Dum arsenal in India for British 
troops to use against rioting 
frontier tribes in the 1800s.

rr WAS B.ANNED at the stxjond 
Hague Conference in 1899 and 
subseguentiy forbidden by the 
U.S. military as “ inhumane and 
cruel,” according to Jordan J.

r 1 r
(t ■■ ft i

'  -.1

Paust, a University of Houston 
law profes-sor and a former mili-
tar>' lawyer.

~TR e”modern “ hollow-point,”  
Paust said, “ is similar to the 
Dum Dum in that it tumbles 
through the air, flattens out on 
impact, and rips and tears at 
angles through the body.”

Paust hiis urge-d Sen. Edward 
Kennedy (D-.Mass.) to sponsor 
federal legislation banning 
hollow-points.

The biggest manufacturer of 
hollow-points is the Jurras .Am­
munition Co. of Indianapolis. A 
Jurras official said ID per cent of

its sales are to police depart­
ments and 90 per cynt of that is 
for hollow-iwints or similar am­
munition.

JURRAS SUPPLIES police 
departments in Chicago, New 
York, Seattle. P£rtland, Ore., 
Hpusjnn, Sacramento. Calif., 
Phoenix, Ariz., and .state police 
departments in Arizona. Texas, 
andflhio.

The Los Angeles Police D('pU 
recently dropped the magnum 
tecaus^U waOogarded asJoF 
powerful. Trootx'rs in New York 
and New Jersey use magnums 
but not hollow-point bullets.

The use of hollow points and 
magnums has touched off a heat­
ed debate in Connecticut, which 
recently started equipping state 
tnxipers with them with orders to 
fire no warning shots, but only 
shoot to kill. '

The Hartford City Council 
passed a unanimous resolution 
opposing the change. The Execu­
tive Council of the Episcopal 
Diocese of Connecticut issued a 
rare public statement condemn­
ing the new weapons as 
“ inhuman . . .  excessive use of 
force and . . .  totally at <xlds with 
any sense of rehabilitation.”

THE WESTPORT, Conn., Fair- 
prisss called for State Police Com­
missioner Cleveland Fuessenich 
to resign unless he pnxiuces sta­
tistics and financial evidence to 
justify the department's use of 
the magTium.

But inany police officials and

ballistics experts defend hollow- 
points and magnuias.

Donald R. Dunn, general 
manager of II. P. White Eihora- 
toty in Itel Air, Md., which has 
tested hollow points, says a 
policeman in an emergency si­
tuation “ wants to be sure that, 
when he wants someone to stop, 
whatever he uses, he wants them 
to stop.

“ If that means death, then so 
be it.”

THE PITHJC is being swayixl 
oti an enx)tional basis, Dunn said.

“ They fail to see the law en­
forcement officer killed in the 
line of duty because of the 
inadequacy of their protective 
devices,” he said.

“ Those who would rather use 
lollipops on gunmen will have to 
go elsewhere,” Gov. Thomas J. 
Mtskill said.

I  Hollow Point Bullet Decried 
! BOSjON,_,July 12 (API—The 
iCivil_Liberties Union of Mas- 
:sachu,setts said today that it 
.had jsked Gov. Francis W. Sar­
gent to stop the use of hollow- 
'point bullets by the state police. 
‘ ‘̂ eJlbelieye Jthat. the use of
these biillets by the state police 
:is a~¥arbaric'practicc. which is

3 'of doubtful legality,’ ’ tiie or­
ganization said.

Xval/  '  3  a-V  lOjCc',

'-4. T.

N.Y.T., Sept. 8, 1974, 
at 54, col. 5 :

Bullet Purchase Suspended
SEATTLE. Sept. 7 (UPI)— : 

The purchase of controversial:
hollow-point bullets for the po-;

; lice department has been su^ ' 
according to tfie'Tn-.’ 

-h terim police chief, Robert L." | 
lelHanson. The .American Civil;' 
id,iLiberties union and others as-i 

|Sert that the hollow-point bul-! 
he!lets were outlawed for warfare: 
toland are (icsicned tb 'malm ancT' 

for:injure severely.’ ’ i



N IN E T Y ‘ T H IR D  C O N G R E S S

P E T E R  W . R O D IN O , 

H A R O L D  D . D O N O H U E , M A S S . 
JA C K  B R O O K S , T E X .
R O B E R T  W . K A S T E N M E 1E R , W IS . 
D O N  E D W A R D S , C A L IF .
W IL L IA M  L . H U M G ATE, M O .
JO HN C O N Y E R S . J R ..  M IC H . 
JO SH U A  E IL B E R G , P A .
JE R O M E  R .  W A L D IE . C A L 1P . 
W A L T E R  F L O W E R S . A L A .
JA M E S  R . M A N N , S .C .
P A U L  S .  S A R B A N E S , M D .
JO HN F . S E IB E R L IN G , OHIO 
G E O R G E  E . D A N IE L S O N , C A L IF . 
R O B E R T  F .  D R IN A N , M A S S . 
C H A R L E S  B . R A N G E L , N .Y . 
B A R B A R A  JO R D A N . T E X .
R A Y  T H O R N T O N , A R K .
E U Z A B E T H  H O L T Z M A N , N .Y . 
W A Y N E  O W E N S , UTAH  
E D W A R D  M E Z V IN S K Y , IOW A

J R . ( n .J . )  C H A IR M A N  

E D W A R D  H U T C H IN S O N , M IC H . 
R O B E R T  M C C L O R Y . IL L .
H E N R Y  P . S M IT H  III , N .Y . 
C H A R L E S  W . S A N D M A N , J R . ,  N .J . 
T O M  R A IL S B A C K , IL L .
C H A R L E S  E . W IG G IN S . C A L IF . 
D A V ID  W . D E N N IS . IN D . 
H A M IL T O N  F IS H , J R . ,  N .Y .
W IL E Y  M A Y N E , IO W A  
L A W R E N C E  J . H O G A N . M D .
M . C A L D W E L L  B U T L E R , V A . 
W IL L IA M  S .  C O H E N , M A IN E  
T R E N T  L O T T , M IS S .
H A R O L D  V . F R O E H L IC H , W IS . 
C A R L O S  J . M O O R H E A D , C A L IF . 
JO S E P H  J . M A R A Z IT I , N .J . 
D E L B E R T  L .  L A T T A , OH IO

Ilf il]t '̂ nxith
Olcnunittee mt

of ^cprescutaiilies 

20515

Gentorr-ber 10, 197̂ *

".r. Jordon J. Paust 
93 To'.rio noooe Po:td 
Har.nien, Coru-iecticut
Dear 'r. Paust:

G E N E R A L  C O U N S E L :
JE R O M E  M . Z E IP M A N  

A S S O C IA T E  G E N E R A L  C O U N S E L !
G A R N E R  J .  C L IN E  

C O U N S E L :
H E R B E R T  FU CH S 
W IL L IA M  P .  SH A TT U C K  
H . C H R IS T O P H E R  N OLDE 
A L A N  A . P A R K E R  
J A M E S  F . FA L C O  
M A U R IC E  A . B A R B O Z A  
A R T H U R  P . E N O R E S , J R . 
F R A N K L IN  G . PO LK  
T H O M A S  E . M OON EY 
M IC H A E L  W . B L O M M E R  
A L E X A N D E R  B . COOK 
C O N S T A N T IN E  J . 6 E K A S  
A L A N  F .  C O F F E Y , J R .

Tna:h\ you for' your recent le t te r  concernin''' t ’ne 
'''Connecticut Ccn.troveroy ' about the use o f .357 mriiurr, 
eeriL-j aci-:eteu, hollc-.T ei r't crcni!':ition.

Tiie CutCG'urittf'S on Criminal Juotice, '-rich I chair, 
i"  oreacntl;/ enregcn In stiK;.y;!n" Innlslation to cco ify  
and re fom  l l t l e  l3 o f  tiie Cnited Ctateo Cede, 'ine Pub-



ANNEX B PROPOSED FEDERAL LEGISLATION*
Amendment to 18 U.S.C., as new S 246;

Any person who,under color of any law, statute, ordinance, 
regulation, or custom, willfully participates in an effort to 
adopt a weapon or weapon system, for public use against human 
beings, that is proscribed from use under international law, 
because of its cruel or inhumane effects, shall be fined not 
more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than ten years, or 
both; and if death results from the public use of such a 
weapon or weapon system, such person shall be subject to 
imprisonment for any term of years or for life.

Amendment to 18 U.S.C., as new S 247:

Any person who, under color of any law, statute, ordinance, 
regulation, or custom, willfully subjects any inhabitant of 
any State, Territory, or District to a substantial risk of 
cruel or inhumane treatment, injury, killing or punishment, 
or to any such result, shall be fined not more than $10,000 
or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and if death 
results, such person shall be subject to imprisonment for 
any term of years or for life.

Note; 42 U.S.C. § 1983 should be sufficient to,implement the
present effort to serve legal policy by covering 
instances of claims for money damages for impermissible 
injury.

* State legislation could also be patterned after these
amendments to federal law and, thus, assure uniform sanction effort.



E D W A R D  M. K E N N E D Y  
MASSACHUSETTS

QifnHcb ^ e n a l c
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20510

July I'-', I''?/'

’!r. Jordan J. "’aust 
"'J To'.ne JouGe "'oad 
’’ai.iJen, Connecticut

dear ''r. ''^aust :

T’'an’.i T’cu very t'’u c ’i for your recent corrcFpondc",ce and tCe 
cnclcsed in lorrr.ation.

Jo appreciate your ta’ iny t!:e t i ' " c  to cc'.tact r.e, and pierne 
i.e assured; that t’'.e raterial you cent -r’ill '-.r-ve t'v  close attention Tdion 
the issue it concerns cones ’ efore t’-.e ''onyress for corsiJeraticr.

It is ali::ays ■'el]iful to ’ non the t 'aou: •’its and.
sue’; ns yourself, since it yives t’lose o ’̂ us 1 n t!:c "ony
understanding of the vie 
of vital legislation.

\'S o."̂ those affected ’ y our deci

•h^ain, ^ an yratcful fer your interest.



Jordan J. Paust 
93 Towne House Rd. 
Hamden, CT. 06 5 m  

Phone:(203)288-6576
Sept. 26, 1974

Dear Attorney General Hyland:
I write to offer some information about the "Connecticut 
controversy" over use of the .357 magnum ammunition, since 
it is of direct relevance to your own inquiry into the illegality 
of .38 hollow-points.
Hollow-points, of any caliber, are illegal under international 
law due to their cruel and inhumane effects within the human 
body. We feel that weapon systems which are proscribed under 
international law for use against armed enemies of the United 
States in the heat, intensities and necessities of warfare, in 
all warfare circumstances, should also be banned from use in 
the United States against our own people.
At stake are fundamental Constitutional policies guaranteed 
under the 5th, 8th, 9th and 14th Amendments to the United 
States Constitution. And asJ'̂ know very well, any use of force 
by a police officer, in any situation, which is "excessive" 
or "cruel" is illegal under both state and federal law. More­
over, there are criminal and civil sanctions available against 
such a use of force, but we seek federal legislation to 
supplement that sort of prohibition--to further guarantee 
the sort of overall prohibition of illegal weapon systems 
that will more greatly assure the civil rights of all, the 
rational and policy-serving functioning of police departments 
and police officers throughout the country and a decrease in 
the type of firepower that is spreading across the country 
and which threatens not only these types of civil liberties 
but the very lives of innocent persons and police officers 
themselves. The best way of stopping the internal arms race 
and of lessening the chance of more police deaths from the 
magnums and hollow-points is to ban them from any use in 
the United States. That is not a complete guarantee, but 
it is better than the present situation.
Already, a police chief has been killed in Illinois, a black 
person has been shot in the back in Los Angeles, and two 
black suspects have been killed in Connecticut from the magnums.
A Los Angeles Grand Jury transcript, testimony of Officer 
Lawrence L. Baggett, L.A.P.D. ballistics expert, shows that 
the .357s break apart within the human body. A preliminary 
autopsy.CChannel 8 News report) indicates that the magnums were 
a primary factor in the deaths of the two baicks in Connecticut. 
And numerous medical articles show the type's of "wound volume" 
increases that occur from hollow-points and magnums. I, for 
one, cannot understand the insanity of supporting these types 
of weapon systems any further. But you may read for yourself 
the sorts of medical effects these bullets can produce:

(1) 1973 International Committee of the Red Cross report 
on the work of experts on Weapons that May Cause 
Unnecessary Suffering or Have Indiscriminate Effects 
(Geneva).



- 2-

(2) Sweden, A Swedish Working Group Study(presented to the ICRC , Geneva 197 3 ).
(3) W. DeMuth, Bullet Velocity and Design as Determinants

of Wounding Capability: An Experimental Study, 6 J. of Trauma 222(1966). -----
(4) LTC W. Moffat, Influence of Missile Type-and Velocity,

66 Proc. rov. Soc. Med. 291(London, Mar. 1973).
(5) Spitz, V. Dimaio, Wounding Characteristics of Unusual 

Firearms, 17 J. of Forensic Science 377(July 1972).
(6) J. Robb, J. Matthews, The Injuries and Management of 

Riot Casualties Admitted to the Belfast Hospital Wards, 
August to October, 1969, 58 Brit. J. Surg. 413(1971).

(7) W. DeMuth, J. Smith, High-Velocity Bullet Wounds of 
Muscle and Bone: the Basis of Rational Early Treatment,
6 J. of Trauma 744(1966).

(8) J. Beyer(ed.), Wound Ballistics(U.S. Dep’t of Army, 
Office of the Surgeon General 1962).

(9) W. Silliphant, J. Beyer, Wound Ballistics, 117 Milt. Med,238(1955). ---------
(10) C. Herget, Wound Ballistics, Surgery of Trauma 494(1953),

These articles show that hollow-points can cause an increase 
'in "wound volume" of some 4,000%(forty times), a temporary 
cavitational effect which produces an expansion some four 
times greater, and a tremendous increase in hydrodynamic 
shock throughout the region affected as compared with the 
normal round-nosed projectile. The explosion within the human 
body caused by increased energy transfer is a primary factor 
in the excessive cruelty, rip-and-tear, and so forth.
You can obtain copies of the industry listings of velocity 
and energy transfer data(from Remington Arms or adds in 
the Police Chief magazine). Ballistics information from 
these sources shows that hollow-points can increase the 
amount of energy for transfer to the human body— especially 
with the magnums. And a test by the Dallas Police shows that 
even a .38 hollovz-point will transfer some 8 0% of that 
available energy to the human body as compared with the normal 
.38 Special(which transfers some 34 % of its available energy 
to the human body). V/hen the amount of energy available for 
transfer is greatly-increased with the magnums, one can also 
understand that the difference of actual energy transferred 
can be substantial(an average of about 8.8 times the actual 
energy transfer--880%).
And there are several police self-interests at stake here 
besides the normal desire to avoid criminal prosecution 
or civil damage suits for "excessive" or "cruel" use of forceCand 
no one can avoid such lawsuits merely because illegal bullets 
were adopted by police department officials). There is a 
self-interest involved here which relates to the desire of the 
police officer to avoid being shot by these bullets from a 
suspect, a fellow officer in a hostage situation, or a fellow 
officer in a situation of mistaken identity. Note that in 
Hartford a police officer's pistol was used by another to 
shoot him; but, as the Hartford Police Chief recognized, if 
the officer had been carrying a.magnum he would have been killed.



The police officer might also be concerned with the use of 
these weapons when his own wife or child is a hostage or 
an innocent bystander, when his neighbor is a hostage or 
an innocent bystander, or when others are involved in such 
a manner.
Public opinion is also important to the police officer in 
connection with public support of law enforcement efforts, 
police morale, police discipline, the maintenance of tradition 
and honor within the department, and public confidence in 
the police and the overall criminal justice system. It is 
recognized by most all concerned that public support is 
essential to an effective police effort to enforce the law.
The use of cruel and inhumane weapons will only erode that 
support over time. This trend should be stopped now through 
a refusal to issue weapons which cause cruel and inhumane 
death, injury or suffering. The holders of offices of public 
trust should make such a ban of illegal weapon systems their 
primary concern. We cannot afford the dangers inherent 
in use of cruel and inhumane weapons, and as the U.S. Supreme 
Court stated in a case involving the Eighth Amendment, there is 
"more to be considered than the ordinary criminal laws. Cruelty 
might become an instrument of tyranny; of zeal for a purpose, 

'either honest or sinister." More to be considered, indeed, 
for can a free society long endure with cruel and inhumane 
weapons in wide and uncontrolled distribution? I, for one, 
do not think that we can afford the risks involved in 
testing the question any further.
As a final comment, I would like to suggest that you place 
as much effort in finding ways to protect the lives of police 
officers without an increase in firepower as has been made 
to provide a psychological "safety" with the use of these 
cruel and inhumane weapons. We know that you will discover 
the same alternative remedies that we have discovered, and 
that such a discovery will only underline the utterly irrational 
and illegal approach taken by some with the adoption of increased 
firepower for use against others.
We hope that you will use your office to oppose the use of 
these bullets in New Jersey. Anything less would, under 
present circumstances, merely stand in support of "excessive," 
"unnecessary," "cruel" and/or inhumane death, injury and 
suffering.

Sincerely,

Jordan J. Paust 
J.S.D. Candidate, Yale 
Assoc. Prof., Houston



aV12 Part ll-Sat„ July 13,1974 
' t r r tr:-----------------------------

H o s a n g f l fS  Z .im c^

$2.5 ŷ1il̂ ion Suit Filed 
in Killing by Policeman

The family of James Otis 
Baldwin, 34, shot to death 
las^Janril'after he was 
stt^ped.by,police officers  ̂

-Friday filed a S2.5 million

against ofiicers Faul D. 
Koerschgen and Joseph M. 
Coppi and the city of Los 
Angeles.

Koerschgen was indicted 
March 28 for grand tiieit 
of a pistol and felony alter- 
ation ot a pistol in coii- 
flfJTlOT tvim tne shooting. 
He is due in Superior 
Court Monday for pretrial 
motions on the criminal 
charges.

iilojjti was suspended by 
Police Chief Edward M. 
D a v i s  May 3 for s i x 
months for dereliction of 
duty.

The civil Superior Court 
suit by attorney Lawrence 
W i 11 fa  m Steinberg ex­
plained that the officers 
stopped Baldwin's car at 
70th and Avalon, ques­
tioned Baldwin, and that 
Koerschgen allowed him 
to_retura_tQ the car, then 
^yithout warning ".shot.the 
unarmed James Baldwin 
five or. six times at very 

-close range with umu­
ll thori zed dumaum s t v i e  

bullets." "
"Koershgen then planted 

a throwaway gun (with

filed-off niimhersL which 
Koerschgen had been car­
rying for many months, 
near the body of James 
Baldwin to seek somehow 
to excuse his unjustified 
killing of James Baldwin," 
the suit stated.

The suit by Baldwin's 
widow. Patricia, his moth­
er and stepfather, Faye 
and Henry Lewis, and 11 
brothers and sisters was 
sharply critical _of the ci- 
ty's recruitment, training 
and maintenance of police 
officers,’ particularly in 
dealing with the b^ac^ 
population,.

Officers have been se­
lected, the suit claimed, 
primarily for their aggres­
siveness and have not 
been given emotional sup­
port or psychological ther­
apy when needed.

"In Koerschgen's case, as 
in many others," Stein­
berg wrote, "serious dan­
ger signals were present 
but were ignored that 
Koerschgen could not and 
did not deal in a calm, ra­
tional and unoppressive 
way with members of the 
black community whom 
he was required to protect 
and serve."

The suit claimed Coopi 
was negligent for faiTing”  
to 'report that his partner' 
broke department rules 
about carrying unauthor- 
ized weapons and ammu­
nition or that Koersch­
gen' "lacked proper in­
ternal control of his ac­
tions t o w a r d  members, 
especially black members, 
of the public."

Dangers of violence, the 
suit claimed, "were creat­
ed and maintained at an 
unreasonably and exces­
sively high level very like­
ly to result in abuse, inju­
ry or death to any member 
of the community but 
especially the black or eth­
nic minority community."

The officers had claimed 
Baldwin's car matched the 
description of a stolen car 

, on police lists.



V  ' i  V e>  yi

\M,-5COfvtv« 3oxxr^ul T v x V j \ / M M
’  ___  — ^ > • -L — /  *. .

‘O P s l k ©  U s e  H © l i© v /
By ED BUn£R

L’nitrd Press International

A growlns number of United 
States police departments are 
using hollow-nosed bullets 
similar to the infamous “ Dum 
Dum” outlawed in warfare for 
the last 75 years as an inhumane 
weapon.

The bullet is used in the 
powerful magnum .357 revolvers, 
being increasingly adopted by 
U.S. policemen in place of the 
standard .38 police special.

POLICE departments in at 
least 14 st^es have switched to 
tfitT niagnum or allow officers an 
option to use it.

( Madison police officers, a 
sixtkesman said, use ammunition 
technically labled "minimum 
ricochet, maximum expansion, 
controlled ammunition.”  Such 
bullets, the spokesman said, are 
constructed similar to the 
hollow-no.sed bullets but are not 
the same.)

TTie hollow-nosed bullet, which 
flattens and expands after pene­
trating its target and leaves a 
gaping wound, often is used by 
hunters for big game.

It first was made at the Dum 
Diim arsenal in India for British 
troops to use against rioting 
frontier tribes in the 1800s.

IT WAS B.\.\NED at the second 
Hague Conference in 1899 and 
subsequently forbidden by the 
U.S. military as "inhumane and 
cruel.”  according to Jordan J.

•o' .. '

1 ■

Paust, a University of Houston 
law professor and a fotrmr mili- 
tary lawyer.

Tlie modern “ hollow-point,”  
Paust said, “ is similar to the 
Dum Dum in that it tumbles 
through the air. flattens out on 
impact, and rips and tears at 
angles through the body.”

Paust has urged Sen. Edward 
Kennedy (D-Mass.) to sponsor 
federal legislation banning 
hollow-points.

The biggest manufacturer of 
hollow-points is the Jurras ;\m- 
munition Co. of Indianapolis. A 
Jurras official said lU per cent of

its sales are to police depart­
ments and 90 piT wnt of that is 
for hollow-points or similar am­
munition.

JURR.AS SUPPLIES police 
departments in Chicago. New 
York. Seattle. Portland, Ore., 
Houston, Sacrcmienti), Calif., 
PhocniXj Ariz., and .state police 
departments in Arizona. Texas. 
and Qhio.

lUie la)s Angeles Police I)ept. 
recently dropped the magnum 
t%aiise U wâ ^̂  too'’
powerful. Troopers in New York 
and New Jersey use magnums 
but not hollow-point bullets.

The use of hollow points and 
magnums has touched off a heat­
ed debate in Connixiticut, which 
recently started eciuipping state 
tnxipers with them with orders to 
fire no warning shots, but only 
shoot to kill. '

The Hartford City Council 
passed a unanimous resolution 
opposing the change. The E.xecu- 
tive Council of the Episcopal 
Diocese of Connecticut issued a 
rare public statement condemn­
ing the new weapons as 
"inhuman . .  . excessive use of 
forcre and . . .  totally at odds with 
any sease of rehabilitation.”

THE W12?TPORT, Conn., Fair- 
pn-ss called for State Police Com­
missioner Cleveland Fuessenich 
to resign unless he produces sta­
tistics and financial evidence to 
justify the department’s use of 
the magnum.

But many police officials and

ballistics experts defend hollow- 
points and magnunts.

Donald R. Dunn, general 
manager of 11. P. White bitxira- 
tory in Bel Air, Md., which has 
tested hollow points, says a 
policeman in an emergency si­
tuation “ wants to be sure that, 
when he wants someone to stop, 
whatever he uses, he wants them 
to stop.

“ If that means death, then so 
be it.”

THE PL’BLIC is being swayexl 
on an enx)tional basis, Dunn said.

“ They fail to see the law en­
forcement officer killed in the 
line of duty because of the 
inadequacy of their protective 
devices,” he said.

“ Those who would rather u.se 
lollipops on gunmen will have to 
go elsewhere," Gov. Thomas J. 
Mc-skill said.

Hollow Point Bullet Decried 
BOSTON^July l'2 (AP)—The 

iGviI_Liberties Union of Mas- 
;sachusetts said today that it 
had asked Gov. Francis W. Sar- 
■gent to hop tlje use of hollow- 
point bullets by the state police. 

l“,We~^believe that the use of 
these biilleis_by the state police 
I is i~Farbaric practice, which is 

.. of doubtful legality,” the or- 
«l ganizatioh said.

1̂ . T.

N.Y.T., Sept. 8, 1974, 
at,54, col. 5 :

Bullet Purchase Suspended i
SEATTLE. Sept. 7 (UPI)— , 

The purchase of controversial:
* hollovy-Doint bullets for the po 
’■ lice department has been su^ ' 
'®|s )̂eiyjgiL according to the m -.' 
-1̂ terim police chief, Robert L."( 
?e| Hanson. The .•Xmerican Civil ' 
•’4,1 Liberties union and others as- 

isert that the hollow-point bul-” 
Jie' lets were outlawed for warfare!

for'in jure severely."



SUBJECT: Newsweek, Sept. 9, at 53 
To the Editors:

Jordan J. Faust 
93 Towne House Rd. 
Hamden, CT. 0651U 

Phone: (203)288-6576 
Sept. 5, 1974

Your statement that "hollow-point ammunition is perfectly legal" 
is perfect twaddle. The .357 semi-jacketed, hollow-point 
projectiles are clearly illegal under international legal 
standards. There has never been a "legal" review of domestic 
use of .357 magnums or other high velocity projectiles in this 
country. Indeed, that's the whole point of the Connecticut 
controversy— which is now fast becoming a national controversy—  
that there must be some national standards and testing of police 
weapon systems for conformity with U.S. and international legal 
policies, and national legislation which bans domestic use of 
any weapon system which thwarts international legal policy.
As stated in the CCLU Legal Memorandum, CCLU policy statements 
and a law review article by this writerC'Does Yoiir Police Force 
Use Illegal Weapons?--An Approach to Decision-Making About Weapons 
Regulation"-), weapon systems that are proscribed under inter­
national law in the necessities and intensities of armed warfare 
against armed enemies of the United States should not be used 
in time of peace against our own people.
At stake are not only the international legal policiesClaws of 
warfare and human rights) but also fundamental rights of all 
Americans as guaranteed in the 5th, 8th, 9th and 14th Amendments 
to our Constitution. Also at stake are the myriad of legal 
policies under U.S. Constitutional, federal and state law which 
prohibit inhumane, cruel or "excessive"/"unnecessary" death, 
injury or suffering. Any use of a weapon system which violates 
such principles of law can be sanctioned, and has substantial 
precedent, through criminal prosecutions for murder, manslaughter, 
assault, and so forth, or civil lawsuits for money damages from 
wrongful death, assault and battery, and so forth or the denial 
of civil rightsCunder 10 U.S.C. §§ 818 and 821; 18 U.S.C. SS 241 
and 242 et seq.; and 42 U.S.C. 1983 et seq.). "Perfectly 
legal within the U.S."?? I dare anyone to try to prove it in a court of law.
And your statements that "everyone agrees" about ricochet effects 
and a decrease of danger to innocent bystanders is very misleading.
I, for one, disagree that the fact that hollow-points shatter 
upon impact with hard objects decreases the richochet danger— it 
increases it for those closest to the impact. And I disagree- that 
innocent bystanders may rest assured that they will not die or 
become seriously injured from an increase in police firepower 
which is totally unnecessary. In fact, there is a direct increase 
in risk to fellow officers(as all in Hartford now know), hostages 
(which could include fellow officers, wives, children, and so forth), 
innocents, foreign businessmen and tourists, and accused persons.
Moreover, your statement that the .357 strikes with twice the 
velocity is only part of the story--it also strikes 'with an 
increase of energy transfer of some 332%(for the partial-jacketed, 
hollow-point), and this tremendous increase in energy transfer 
is partially responsible for the greater rip-and-tear, shock, 
injury, suffering, production of secondary projectiles, and so forth.



- 2-

There are many other points of law and fact worth mentioning, but space will not permit such here. Let me add, however, 
that never has there been a public statement of police necessity 
for the change to the tremendous.increase in firepower, nor 
has there ever been released any police ballistics information 
or medical data on the effects of these weapons within the 
human body. We already know from a Los Angeles Grand Jury 
transcript what these bullets can do within the human body, 
and this is substantially verified by an International Committee 
of the Red Cross Report of Experts(Geneva 1973). But why hasn't 
such information been made available to the public by those 
who are supposed to serve the public? Why is there only 
rhetoric about nonsense and "lollipops"?

Sincerely,

Jordan 
J . S . D.

J. Paust 
Candidate YaleAssoc. Pro.f. 

Houston
of Int'l Law, Univ. of

cc: William Olds, Exec. Dir., CCLU 
Senator Edward M. Kennedy 
Senator William Proxmire, Senator Bayh 
Congressman Don Fraser 
others