Phillips and Mătăsăreanu began to engage the officers, firing sporadic bursts into the patrol cars that had been positioned on Laurel Canyon in front of the bank. Officers, armed with standard Beretta 92F, Beretta 92FS 9mm pistols, Smith & Wesson Model 15 .38 caliber revolvers, and a 12-gauge Ithaca Model 37 pump-action shotgun, immediately returned fire. The officers' weaponry could not penetrate the body armor worn by Phillips and Mătăsăreanu, and most of the LAPD officers' service pistols had insufficient range and poor accuracy at long distances. An officer was heard on the LAPD police frequency approximately 10 – 15 minutes into the shootout, warning other officers that they should "not stop getaway vehicle, they've got automatic weapons, there's nothing we have that can stop them." Additionally, the officers were pinned down by the heavy spray of gunfire coming from the robbers, making it difficult to attempt a head shot. Several officers acquired five AR-15 style rifles from a nearby gun store to combat the robbers.