Do police carry automatic or semi-automatic rifles?

Each agency buys what it wants. I worked at an agency that only had shotguns and pistols. They were expensive Mossberg shotguns, so I was pretty popular in the academy firearms training with guys who wanted to try one out.

At another PD, we carried a decent shotgun in all cars, but there were rifles that could be brought into the field quickly if we needed them. They had 3 choices, single shot, a burst of 3 rounds or fully automatic. We were all allowed to try the first rifle out in all 3 modes. I had good control of my trigger finger (who knew?), so I could shoot a short burst even with the...