Greg, of course you're right. I would NEVER want to be taken to have said that the long gun is not a crucial component of the cop's equipment.
Just because few cops get into gunfights with their rifles/shotguns doesn't mean that they don't need 'em. I can't tell you how many OIS's involve police handguns vs rifles with certainty, but just based on my files alone the proportion would have to be 20:1 or higher.
One cop I know in a large metro area has killed 8 people with his duty handgun. He's never fired his shotgun at a perp. A deputy I know in a rural department has shot 3 people with his shotgun and 1 with his handgun. These two guys are differentiated, in my view, by the simple fact that the city cop goes into situations with his sidearm only almost all the time, whereas the rural deputy routinely carries his shotgun when he steps out of his patrol car except for traffic stops. Dunno if that adds anything to the equation, but there it is.
