19 December 2018

Limited edition of Dan Wesson pistols for Kansas City police officers

On 7 December 2018, CZ-USA colleagues working in the Law Enforcement Sales Department of CZ-USA personally presented twelve Dan Wesson Vigil pistols to Terry Zeigler, Chief of the Kansas City Police Department.

The creation of this gun is closely associated with the service of two members of this department. In 2016, two police officers – Detective Brad Lancaster and Captain Dave Melton – were killed in the line of duty in two operations that were roughly two months apart. Lancaster and Melton were also members of the Honor Guard of Kansas City, Kansas Police Department (KCKPD) and both were US military veterans. During his service in the Honor Guard, Detective Lancaster recommended that Dan Wesson 1911 be part of the unit’s equipment. He also expressed what design he thought would be appropriate. In 2018, the Kansas City Chief of Police then approved the creation of a pistol for the Honor Guard. The proposal, which was submitted by Detective Chris O’Neill, was based on the original design of Detective Brad Lancaster.

When finalizing the design, Detective O’Neill was in close contact with Andrew Eager from CZ-USA, who then worked with Dan Wesson to create twelve pistols. After receiving the pistols from Dan Wesson, Andrew worked with a local engraver on their completion. All twelve pistols are engraved with KCKPD badges with the service numbers of Detective Lancaster and Captain Melton, as well as the “KCKPD HONOR GUARD” emblem. The pistols are a wonderful honour to the service of Lancaster and Melton. They are also the culmination of the demanding and collaborative work of Kansas City, Kansas Police Department and employees of CZ-USA and Dan Wesson. Each of the twelve pistols has its own serial number and officers who leave the KCKPD Honor Guard will be able to purchase this weapon. The number series of other new pistols will be extended as soon as a new officer joins the Honor Guard.