Like the previous CZ 75B Military promotional pistols, the CZ 75BD Police is not a separate model, but a standard CZ model packaged as a special offer. Like the CZ 75B Military, the CZ 75BD police comes with one 15 round magazine and one 10 round magazine. The confusion over the CZ 75BD Police stems from the fact that this name combines elements of two standard CZ model names, the CZ 75 POLICE and the CZ 75BD.
The CZ 75 POLICE has the distinction of introducing the decocking lever in a full size CZ 75 series pistol; traditionally, the CZ 75/85 series pistols have a Browning-type manual safety. The original CZ 75 POLICE has a loaded chamber indicator and a lanyard mount in the butt. (See page 18 of the current CZ 75 series manual.) It is only available in black polycoat and chambered in 9mm Luger (9mm Parabellum, 9x19). Special features can be ordered from the factory (such as night sights). These were originally designed for a Brazilian police contract. This model was renamed the CZ 75 BD POLICE for 2004.
This model was sold in Europe for a number of years, and some 2002 models have turned up in the USA. Apparently, CZ did not produce new handguns in this configuration for a number of years, but recently began doing so again. The CZ 75 POLICE model was listed on the CZ-UB (Czech) website until January 2003, but it is not currently listed. (This turned out to be due to its reintroduction as the CZ 75BD POLICE.) The CZ-USA website and 2003 paper catalog do not list the model. It seems safe to assume that quantities are fairly limited at present.
The CZ 75BD is a "Plain Jane" version of the CZ 75 POLICE; it lacks the loaded chamber indicator and lanyard mount. (See page 18 of the current CZ 75 series manual.) The CZ 75BD is only available in black polycoat and chambered in 9mm Luger (9mm Parabellum, 9x19). My personal theory is that this model was an attempt to test civilian interest in a full-sized CZ 75 series pistol with a decocking lever, rather than a manual safety.
This model has been available in the U.S. for some time; however, like the CZ 75 DAO, it was never very popular. Stocking CZ dealers rarely, if ever, carried the CZ 75BD before 2002. To be fair, the CZ 75B Military handguns outsold all other models during the years that they were readily available from CZ-USA.
CZ-USA ran the "CZ 75B Military" promotional handgun offer from 1997-2001. By 2000, supplies were drying up, and some 1999 commercial pistols were released with a 15 round magazine, like the Turkish military pistols had been. In 2002, CZ-USA replaced this promotion with the "CZ 75BD Police" promotional offer. These are actually CZ 75BD models, not CZ 75 POLICE models. CZ-USA called this the "CZ 75BD Police" for reasons of their own.
I can offer some possible suggestions. 1) Since the 75B promotion was the "Military," the 75BD promotion was the "Police." 2) The BD is definitely a police pistol in origin, since decocker models were introduced purely because certain customers wanted them (including the Police of the Czech Republic and the Brazilian national police force). 3) Since it appears that the true CZ 75 POLICE model had not yet been imported into the US, there really was no cause for confusion. Advertisements for the CZ 75BD Police and the CZ-USA website make it pretty clear that the promotional pistols do not have loaded chamber indicators, etc.
In summary:
1) The CZ 75BD Police promotional pistol is a CZ 75BD, not a CZ 75 POLICE (now known as CZ 75BD POLICE).
2) Unlike the original Turkish CZ 75B Military pistols, the CZ 75BD Police pistols are not contract overrun pistols.
3) The vast majority of CZ modern-production pistols have a Browning-type manual safety, not a decocker. The CZs with decocking levers are a direct result of the interest that various law enforcement agencies around the world have shown for the CZ 75 series.
