New Haven Independent

Posted by: on whalley | May 1, 2008 6:23 PM

What's a "75" handgun?

Is it a Czech model 75 or Italian TZ model 75?
Where does that quote come from and who said it? Did a cop actually say "a 75 handgun" intenting to be descriptive?

The "75 handgun" brought to you by the same people who ran with "armor piercing teflon bullets" and the "7.62x33" caliber round from the Nebraska mall shooting.

With all the fact checking resources at their disposal you'd think it would be difficult to get things so wrong yet two decades later people are still convinced teflon has any effect at all on a projectiles penetrating ability (just like those who tink Iraq had anything to with 9/11), that the AK-47 is in any way different than any other semi automatic rifle or that drug addicted thugs on street corners are magically converting semiautos to full auto or that "75 handgun" qualifies as sufficiently descriptive.

I can reasonably assume "75" refers to either a CZ or TZ and because I know a bit about guns I can understand what it was the thugs had but I have to wonder what does the standard New Haven ignorant imagine when reading "a 75 handgun." It either means absolutely nothing to the point they assume it was a typo or they fill their paranoid little heads with images of some giant death device loaded with hate incarnate and existing as an afront to god to destroy all that is sacred and beautiful.

There's always the possibility a "75 handgun" is something else entirely that I am unfamiliar with and I'm open to learning all about this "75 handgun" from the genius that described it as such.

Maybe it was some relic .75 cal muzzelloader? I wish the thugs ran around with muzzelloaders. That would awesome. They could use the enormous puff of smoke to make their get away.

Posted by: Melissa Bailey | May 1, 2008 8:03 PM

75 is the police code for "possession of a weapon."

Posted by: State Street | May 1, 2008 9:25 PM

Nice work Officers and thanks to Lieutenant Sweeney for paying attention when the community started to speak up about the activities on Lawrence Street.

This is the kind of community policing that we are looking for in the neighborhood and throughout New Haven.

Posted by: david streever | May 2, 2008 3:19 PM

Nice rant On Whalley! I guess you could have just written, "What is a 75 handgun? I am unfamiliar with this term."

The problem with arrogant jerks is they assume they know everything--so when they don't know something, they need to blame it on someone else.

Posted by: The Insider | May 2, 2008 5:14 PM

Dave I usually don't make comments but wow, you hit the nail on the head. Good one

Posted by: on whalley | May 3, 2008 2:49 PM

I have to ask Bailey if the term was something she knew and assumed was common knowledge so she didn't feel the need to clarify, if she did not know what the term was and didn't think it mattered so she didn't ask for clarification, if she didn't think it mattered at all and didn't wonder what it meant until I asked...

I'll assume for now she took it for granted as common knowledge because reporters wouldn't just write up something they didn't know anything about. Would they? I mean, the job involves asking questions, right?

Come on Steever. I can't ask a simple question like that. That would be out of character and I would disappoint those who rely on my ranting to fuel their own commenting. I brought two comments in with that one besides the answer to my question. If I get an answer to my follow-up and a smart-aleky response from you theres two more for a grand total of five. Woot.