UPDATED 6/16 Mentor (Ohio) Police seek to swap out Kimber .45 ACP handguns for 9mm Glocks

In an effort to upgrade its arsenal of duty-carry firearms, the Mentor (Ohio) Police Department is looking to replace its inventory of American-made Kimber semi-automatic handguns with Austrian-made Glock semi-automatic handguns.

Importantly as well, Mentor’s patrol officers will now be using handguns chambered for 9mm caliber instead of .45 ACP caliber.

Mentor has subscribed for open bids from qualified and properly licensed firearms dealers only, both for the purchase of the new Glocks as well as the sale of the now-in-use 11-year-old Kimbers.

The city’s extensively detailed bid package is contained within a 21-page document.

Among other contractual stipulations the winning bidder must provide a lifetime warrantee for each weapon sans any abuse, that each handgun be test fired and certified to shoot Winchester-brand Ranger Talon ammunition, and that each weapon come with three magazines.

Asked about the swap-out, Mentor Police Captain Andrew Lehner said the process was extensive with the department believing the Glocks offered both the best value and the best weapon.

"We believe the stopping power is just as good with the Glock's capacity being more," Lehner said.

Lehner said as well the last thing any police department can afford is see its service weapons fail at a critical moment, hence the need to make the switch now before maintaining the invetory of Kimbers becomes too expensive and too time-consuming.

"We cannot afford to wait for the weapons to breakdown," he said.

Likewise the police department is looking for a single bidder to buy 104 so-called “police property guns.” These firearms include handguns, shotguns, and rifles and represent guns that were turned over to the police by people who no longer wanted them or felt comfortable owning them as well as weapons forfeited to the police by the courts.

The property firearms represent the entire class of firearms from well-respected and high-dollar guns to those often derided by firearms experts and enthusiasts as “junk.”

Examples of the former include a Ruger Mini-14 in .223 caliber and a new-in-the-box Springfield model XD-9 pistol, as well as an Israeli-made 9mm Uzi.

At the other end of the firearms’ spectrum are such less-desirable species as several Hi-Point pistols, a Jimenez 9mm pistol, and a J.C. Higgins .22-caliber rifle.

As for the Kimber-to-Glock move the Mentor Police Department is looking to obtain 78 Glock Model 17s with night sights installed, 24 Glock Model 19s with night sights installed, and five Glock Model 26s with night sights installed. All are to be chambered for the 9mm caliber round.

Appropriate “leather” (holsters) also are part of the required inventory the FFL-licensed-only dealers are to include with their sealed bids.

The three Austrian-built Glock pistol models have real-world/individual piece selling prices of around $550 each.

However, each of the so-called Generation 4 Glock pistol models are coveted by law enforcement and civilian shooters  for their reliability, ease of handling, and performance.

To be sold off are 63 Kimber Stainless Steel Model II duty pistols, 13 Kimber Pro Carry HD II pistols, four Kimber Ultra CDP II pistols, and 20 Kimber Custom TLE pistols.

All of the Kimbers are based on the 103-year-old Model 1911 pistol design and are chambered for the more powerful .45 ACP round.

Kimber pistols are often cited as being among the elite of production-built handguns with real-world/individual selling prices of $700 to more than $1,000 each.

The bids are to be received by the city no later than June 18, after which all such packages are to be immediately opened.

Asked how much the swap-out might cost the city, Lehner said he could not say, at least not until the bids are open on Wednesday.

For a comprehensive look at the bid requirements and other related details, visit Mentor’s web site at www.cityofmentor.com/category/rfp.

- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn

JFrischk@Ameritech.net

Jeff Frischkorn is the retired News-Herald reporter who covered the earth sciences, the area's three county park systems and the outdoors for the newspaper.

During his 30 years with The News-Herald Jeff was the recipient of more than 100 state, regional and national journalism awards.

He also is a columnist and features writer for the Ohio Outdoor News, which is published every other week and details the outdoors happenings in the state.