Keeping with the home-state favorite, the Massachusetts State Police will continue their tradition of using Smith & Wesson handguns, going with the M&P M2.0 in .45ACP as their new sidearm.
The "Staties," formed in 1865, were the first statewide enforcement agency in the country and today numbers upwards of 2,100 sworn troopers and 500 civilian employees. S&W will be providing over 2,500 pistols as part of MSP's upgrade, each featuring the agency’s official shield lasered onto the top of the slide.
"We are honored and privileged to have been selected as the new sidearm of the Massachusetts State Police," said Matthew Fehmel, S&W's Senior Director, Global Professional and International Sales. "The new M&P M2.0, with its aggressive texturing and tactile trigger reset, provides our home state law enforcement with the ultimate in reliability and dependability. This upgrade to the M&P45 M2.0 should carry the Massachusetts State Police through many years of service."
The agency ordered 2,500 first-generation M&P pistols chambered in .45ACP from S&W in 2011 and had previously adopted the M&P15 tactical rifle as its state-issued patrol rifle. Prior to that, MSP had used a variety of Sig Sauer P-series handguns in .40S&W and 9mm going back to the early 1990s when they transitioned from double-action .357 Magnum-chambered revolvers-- S&W Model 65s-- that they carried before then.
Founded in 1856, S&W predates the Staties by a few years and is headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts, although it has extensive operations outside of the Commonwealth.
