The Plymouth Common Council has approved a policy that allows retiring members of the Police Force to take their service weapons home with them.
That ordinance was revised after a long-serving member of the police force retired and requested his weapon be deemed surplus property and gifted to him. A member of the public questioned the legality of doing so.
Plymouth City Attorney Sean Surrisi says some of the suggested verbiage was simply too difficult to enforce.
“Having a retiring officer be required to keep the gun in his family and not to sell the handgun, and while that would be an ideal thing to have in there, the enforceability of that provision would be very difficult,” says Surrisi.
During Monday evening’s meeting, members considered the ordinance on second and third reading.
The language specifies that now, instead of gifting the weapon to retired police officers, they can now purchase their weapon from the force. As part of the background process, officials with the City of Plymouth met with the former Police Chief to better understand the state statutes.
Surrisi says departments can also provide an annually issued photo ID to retiring officers.
“Under the state and federal statutes, it could allow them and it to act as a lifetime handgun carry permit that would then have to be renewed annually,” says Surrisi.
The Plymouth Common Council approved the ordinance on second and third reading, unanimously.
