I wish they DID handle all BLEO cases as felonies, but alas, tis wishful thinking. I can think of 4 or 5 cases of arrests made just by officers in my agency (Florida) for the 12 counties my division covers within the last 6 months, only one of which actually went to felony charges - all the rest pled down.

Same with looking at criminal histories - when you get that rush of adrenaline that the guy you're out with is a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, then dispatch tells you that there are 8 felony arrests, that worked out as 6 misdemeanor convictions and 2 nolos. Big bummer.