GUNS 'N' AMMO COLLECT DUST AFTER POLICE FORCE DISBANDS

The central Texas town of Bartlett owns more than a dozen
high-powered, high-priced weapons, including a machine gun "like you
would see on 'The Sopranos,' "said Mayor Bobby Hill. But now there's
no one to shoot them. The police department has just been canned.

Last month's demise of the police force was prompted by complaints
from minority residents in the 1,500-person town about police
harassment, racial profiling of drivers, and drug-sniffing dogs being
sent into bars frequented by Hispanics and African Americans.

The mayor and city council also were concerned about police
overspending on guns, ammo, bulletproof vests and other supplies, Hill
said.

At its height, Bartlett's police force had five full-time and three
reserve officers. They had their own building, more computers than
city hall and an arsenal fit for an urban SWAT team.

Hill's theory: "I think it was just a big ego trip for the police
department, and they were highly taking advantage of
minorities."

For now, the sheriff's departments of Williamson and Bell counties,
which Bartlett straddles, are answering 911 calls. Hill wants to hire
two permanent and one or two reserve officers and get back to
small-town policing, such as being "over at the schools when traffic
is coming in," the mayor said.