ALS basically is slow suffocation. One of my best customers a retired Air Force pilot died of that disease (invited me to his last life celebration party) as did Lou Gehrig. I remember Gehrigs speech. I also vividly remember the Bank robbers in LA. I think they (the police) were borrowing rifles from civilians to stop the robbers. Ricocheting bullets off pavement was how the Brits stopped Italian tanks in WW2 as well as many other cases after those and probably some before.
I have not been following the recent 6.5 MM military ammo developments Tabby Lynn. We did reload a Newton cartridge that used an 06 case necked down to .256 Newton. Is the 6.5 (.270) based on the 5.56 case and more modern powder developments? My brother worshipped the M14 and hated the M16. He qualified with the M14, 249/250.
Yes, several officers went to a local gunship, B&B Guns (long gone, sadly) and borrowed a number of rifles from the store staff, who were quite willing to help. Though those guns were brought to the scene, it's my understanding they were not actually utilized, as some sergeant or other supervisor wouldn't allow their use, because they weren't department approved guns that the officers had trained with, qualified with, etc.
So, until the LAPD SWAT team (known officially as LAPD, Metropolitan Division, D Platoon, which is how it's often referred to within LAPD--D Platoon) arrived, the responding officers had their handguns and shotguns, but no other long weapons. The subjects' rifles were converted illegally to full auto, and at least one was .308 caliber. They had a carload full of weapons.
The whole area was essentially under siege as this fight raged on, the subject firing hundreds of rounds, cartridges cases piling up, so the B&B fellows understood exactly the situation. The news video of the subjects deliberately engaging dozens of officers with full auto fire is still disturbing and a level of violence that had nothing to do with their wanting to get away. They wanted that fight more than they wanted the money from the bank or to escape.
Again, fortunately, no innocents were killed. But, a number of people were wounded and some quite seriously.
One other post North Hollywood anecdote: I've heard that one of the SWAT officers got "dinged"--that is, some form of disciplinary punishment--afterwards because he was wearing short pants. I think they were elsewhere that day, perhaps at the Academy where they were then based, and he rolled "Code 3" without taking the time to put on long pants. He's seen in that final fire fight with the second subject wearing shorts. Good on him, I'd say, to have his prioriites right! But, supposedly, he was out of uniform or some such other violation.
Officers from all over the city responded, including a young female officer I'd later marry. She and her partner were at the Academy when it started and definitely out of their patrol area. She wound up leading a number of officers in a search of the area for any potential third subject.
Anyway, I think the LAPD after action review can be found online and is worth reading, for anyone interested. One of its authors became D Platoon's commander before retiring and going on to be the Chief of the Burbank, CA PD.