Posted on 07/04/2007 2:36:41 PM PDT by pabianice
Falmouth, MA, Police Chief David Cusolito is out of a job. Since becoming Falmouth’s Chief of Police in 1997, Cusolito has continuously been in the news because of his reported hostile attitude towards the public’s right to self-defense and his general antipathy to citizens’ gun rights. His tenure has been marked by an ongoing controversy regarding firearms use and ownership -- even by his own police officers. In one case, he demanded that all sworn town police officers also obtain a state civilian license to carry firearms before he would allow them to carry weapons in the line of duty. Cusolito said he was asserting his authority to continue the policy that required all officers to have a state-issued license to carry a firearm. When Falmouth patrolmen replied that they had a right to carry a gun by virtue of their badge, a right also sanctioned by state law, the Falmouth Police Federation filed a complaint with the state Labor Relations Commission arguing that Cusolito's edict was prohibited by their contract.
More troublesome is Cusolito’s unilateral decision to not issue or renew any licenses to carry concealed firearms to any of the town’s residents. In violation of state law, Cusolito included in every LTC application extra material that, in part, stated that he did NOT, under any circumstances, issue a license to carry a concealed firearm (“NOTE: WE DO NOT ISSUE ANY LICENSES ‘FOR ALL LAWFUL PURPOSES”), in violation of Massachusetts law (bad enough under the infamous Chapter 180 of the Laws of 1998). His packet also informed applicants that if they wished to get a license issued for Personal Protection, the applicant would be summoned before the Chief to convince the Chief why Cusolito should honor such a request and prove that the applicant’s life was in danger. As one might expect, this policy not only kept people from moving to Falmouth but also did not go down well with people already living in the town who had held licenses for 30 or 40 years. A town official who requested anonymity told The Nav Log that the chief’s dictatorial attitude regarding honoring the Second Amendment had rightfully infuriated both the town’s lawful gun owners and the local shooting range’s several hundred members as well as the citizenry in general and was a major reason Cusolito’s contract was not renewed.
Word comes that Cusolito, upon learning that he was being replaced, chose to resign. A new Chief of Police is expected to be in place by September of this year. His gun policy remains unknown.
Perhaps we can chalk one up for the Constitution.
Are your Sheriffs elected or appointed? If they are elected, this might be a bad law. In SOs around here (FL) the upper level management is subject to be replaced at the new Sheriff's discretion. If, say, the Undersheriff runs against a major or captain from the same department someone could lose their career at the whim of their political opponent.
As it stands if the officer loses his/her cert. through FDLE (Florida Department of Law Enforcement), THAT is a career killer.
It does seem to be on the fritz lately, doesn’t it?
The Peoples' Republic of Massachusetts has a Castle Law.
The real reason for not openly carrying is simply that it provides ammunition for the local Liberals who claim they were "Threatened" or "Placed in Fear" or "Scared" or had their "Karmic Vibrations disrupted" by seeing a gun. Such a complaint imperils the Carry License.
Also, local Police get pretty sick of "Man With Gun" calls every time a local merchant puts the day's reciepts into a night depository or ATM.
The reason I searched and found this old thread was because my wife and I just returned from a visit to Falmouth. Of COURSE we were armed. I wouldn't visit a place like that without a gun.
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