Falmouth police want to trade in 33 shotguns to buy more. Why gun safety advocates object.

The Falmouth Police Department wants to trade in $4,100 worth of surplus shotguns to help pay for new shotguns.

But the Falmouth Gun Safety Coalition wants the 33 surplus guns destroyed.

A financial loss for the town with the destruction of the guns is nothing compared to costs associated with rising gun violence, said coalition president Nan Logan.

"We are trying to wake people up to that cost," said Logan on Wednesday. "We haven’t had any of those horrible Newtown (Sandy Hook) events here but there’s no reason why we wouldn’t."

Logan spoke at a Feb. 12 Falmouth Select Board meeting. The coalition wants the surplus guns to be destroyed so that parts cannot be resold and reused.

The 33 surplus 12-gauge shotguns are to be sold back to Jurek Brothers, a police supply vendor in Greenfield, as part of a deal to purchase new shotguns.

The shotguns have a $4,100 trade-in value, said Town Manager Mike Renshaw.

Falmouth Police Lieutenant Michael Simoneau confirmed the trade-in value. Police are waiting on a decision from Renshaw on whether the surplus weapons will be traded in, or destroyed, Simoneau said. Police Chief Jeffrey Lourie could not be immediately reached by the Times for comment.

The issue reignites questions raised in 2022 when Falmouth police traded in semi-automatic weapons to a Hyannis gun dealer as part of a purchase deal for more semi-automatic weapons. The financial loss of $4,100 for the town could be a legal issue as well, town officials said.

What is the town policy?

"While $4,100 isn’t a significant amount, it's meaningful for the police budget," Renshaw said in a phone interview. Without accounting for that financial loss, he said, the Select Board's fiduciary duty could be breached.

An existing town policy, said Renshaw, gives him the authority to make the final decision on whether the surplus weapons will be traded in or destroyed. Conversations between Renshaw and Lourie remain ongoing, Renshaw said. But some Select Board members wanted to explore options on how the public could donate towards the $4,100 trade-in value and the guns could be destroyed.

“I don’t want to give an impression that we’ve made the final decision and that they’re going to be destroyed," said Renshaw. "The police chief and I have not made that decision.”

The town isn't generally allowed to destroy goods paid for with municipal funds, Town Counsel Maura O'Keefe said.

"But if taxpayers exhibit a desire to destroy a particular set of goods and forego that fiduciary duty, then the Select Board would be able to go ahead and do that without undermining fiduciary duty," she said.

A bylaw codifying a policy to destroy surplus firearms was passed during the May 2022 town meeting, O'Keefe said. However, the Attorney General's office rejected the bylaw because of state procurement act conflicts that couldn't be resolved.

A previous Powderhorn decision is an influence

In June 2022, Falmouth residents expressed concerns about a deal between the police and Powderhorn Outfitters, a former hunting and shooting shop in Hyannis.

At the time, police were set to buy 38 semi-automatic weapons from Powderhorn Outfitters, and trade in 21 semi-automatic weapons. The deal would allow the police to receive credit toward the purchase.

About 300 Falmouth residents signed a petition for the town to dismantle and destroy the police department’s surplus weapons instead. The petitioners feared that the older rifles could eventually wind up in civilian hands.

The deal went forward, as approved by then-Acting Town Manager Peter Johnson-Staub, after Powderhorn Outfitters agreed to only sell the weapons to local law enforcement. But Select Board member Onjalé Scott Price said, at that time, that the Select Board would carefully consider surplus weapon policies moving forward.

A nonprofit revolving fund is suggested

Renshaw said a revolving fund managed by a nonprofit could help mitigate the trade-in value for surplus weapons. The public could donate to that revolving fund, he said, and replace the $4,100, along with future financial losses stemming from surplus weapons.

There's no identified nonprofit to oversee a revolving fund so far, Renshaw told the Times.

If a nonprofit was developed, O'Keefe said the Select Board would be prohibited from targeting solicitations from the public.

Select Board Chair Nancy Taylor asked Renshaw to bring information and legal guidance back to the board by March 25.

"Where the money comes from isn't particularly relevant," said O'Keefe. "It just might be helpful if there was an organized 501c3 to raise funds for this purpose."

How would the weapons be destroyed?

Even if the surplus guns are destroyed, Renshaw said, there's concern about how they will be disposed of and where they will end up.

Select Board member Robert Mascali said surplus weapons that are destroyed are sometimes dismantled and refit into new weapons.

"They are somehow repurposed," said Muscali.

That's also been a concern for Logan. Often, she said, police departments say they are destroying guns, but the weapons are given to a company that takes them away for free, disassembles the weapons, and sells parts piece by piece.

"We want to see them destroyed officially," Logan said.

A gun buyback program in 2018

In 2018, Logan and other advocates of gun safety organized a gun buyback event, where 100 guns were turned in to the Falmouth Police, in return for grocery gift cards. During that time, Logan said the group found a scrap metal dealer who destroyed the guns at no charge.

"We watched as every gun was trashed," she said.

Logan hopes the surplus rifles can be destroyed in the same manner.

Renshaw said he's also heard that dismantled guns can be turned into garden tools.

"Maybe turning them into shovels. That's another concept that's been discussed," he said.

Some think gun trade-in value should remain intact

Falmouth resident Mark Finneran, during the Select Board meeting, said guns in the community are not the problem but that the people using the guns are the problem.

The Rev. Deborah Warner, during the meeting, said she's ready to work with members of the Select Board and other town government leaders to fulfill citizens' fiduciary duties.

"We know what the aftermath looks like when an active shooter fires shots. We've seen footage over and over again far too often," said Warner, a rector at Church of the Messiah in Falmouth. "We can pay the price and choose to stop the flow of guns. We can do that. In fact, we must."

Rachael Devaney writes about community and culture. Reach her at rdevaney@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter: @RachaelDevaney.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Should Falmouth destroy or sell 33 old police shotguns?