San Bernardino chief says first responders to attack were out-gunned

San Bernardino police officers did not have all the equipment needed as they stormed into the Inland Regional Center searching for active shooters last December, San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said Tuesday. 

Burguan told KPCC officers had insufficient body armor and lacked tools to knock down doors. Inside, responders found 14 dead and 22 injured. It was the most deadly terrorist attack on U.S. soil since 9/11. The shooting was over when police arrived, but had it not been, officers would have found themselves out-gunned, Burguan said. 

"We encounter people with more firepower all the time," he said. 

Burguan is raising money from local businesses to purchase more police equipment. 

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At best, he said officers who responded on December 2 were wearing soft body armor. At least one officer was on his way to lunch and wearing no vest at all when he answered the call to the terrorist attack.

"Soft body armor isn’t necessarily effective to stop a rifle round," Burguan said. 

San Bernardino first responders realized they could have used battering rams and crowbars in the search for active shooters, Burguan said. Most carried handguns while in pursuit of terrorists wielding rifles illegally modified to shoot more rounds, more quickly.

Burguan is looking to add 100 to 150 AR15 rifles to department's inventory in addition to hard armor plates and other tools. 

But the city is still recovering from the bankruptcy officials filed in 2012. To fill the void, local businesses are raising cash.

BNSF Railway sent out about 200 letters to other nearby businesses and helped raise $126,000 of the $300,000 goal. Funds will be donated to the San Bernardino Police Foundation. 

"It's important to make sure they have all of the equipment they need," said Lena Kent, BNSF spokesperson. "These are the people that are on the front lines everyday."