FALMOUTH – The Falmouth Select Board recently approved a policy on how to handle surplus police weapons that are no longer in use.
Peter Johnson-Staub, Falmouth’s Acting Town Manager, said the policy has two sections for the disposal of sidearms and assault rifles.
Surplus sidearms will be destroyed safely or disposed of in a way where they are only sold to anyone qualified under state law to own them, with police approval.
Concerning assault rifles, Johnson-Staub said the same stipulations apply as with sidearms but stated that there is an addition in the policy so there is a preference that the surplus rifles be sold back to active members of the Falmouth Police Department.
Town Counsel Maura O’Keefe said the policy was drafted so that selling the weapons back to police officers was a preference and not a requirement.
“I worded like this to draw back from it placing a requirement on the gun dealers to only sell them to law enforcement because I believe that might be an infringement on their second amendment right,” O’Keefe said.
Police officers present at the meeting said the weapons could benefit officers who wish to train with the used weapons on their own time.
Some Falmouth residents at the meeting expressed concerns about the weapons possibly going back into the community.
By Brian Engles, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
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