Cops have a job to do that leads them to areas that most don't want to go to and to deal with people that most don't want to deal with. They choose this profession and because of this choice, they are given discretion on how they do this job. I am very pro-2nd amendment and I think civilians...
I think the 870 has now become a must have legend because of its reliability and history. Kind of like a Colt 1911. Are there better 1911s? Sure, but Colt is the legend. Same as the 870.
I don't like .556/.223. I would probably go with .308. I know a lot of people don't like the weight, but I like the M1A. The military uses .556 ball ammo and it does not have any knock down power. I also don't like the looks of ARs. I guess if I were to get one, I would look into an AR-10.