UPDATE, Wednesday: City Council unanimously approved the ordinance.
Police Commissioner William Evans strongly backs a proposed ordinance that would let police seize toy and replica guns that look too much like the real thing.
Evans said the guns increasingly being used in crimes. At a City Council committee hearing this morning, he pointed to last night's robbery outside the Savin Hill T stop, allegedly by two teens with a realistic-looking BB gun as just the latest example of people using replica guns in crimes.
"It's a critical ordinance for us in the Police Department, because obviously we see way too many of these on the streets of the city now," Evans said.
Mayor Walsh proposed the regulations in August.
But he added that he is also worried what happens when somebody points one of the guns at a police officer and the officer responds with deadly force - as happened in Cleveland with a 12-year-old boy and in Brockton with a 45-year-old man.
A situation like that "is our biggest fear," he said.
"These aren't toys, these basically can do a lot of damage in the city," he added.
Dan Mulhern, the mayor's adviser on public safety, emphasized the proposed ordinance carries no criminal penalties but is instead an attempt to educate the public - in particular parents - on the problems with realistic-looking replicas that do not have bright orange tips or other markers to show they are just toys.
Under the proposed ordinance, police would seize the replicas, then hold them for awhile. Parents of kids under 18 who had their toys seized could go down to the local police station and retrieve them. People over 18 could do the same thing.
The City Council could vote on adopting the measure at its meeting tomorrow, which starts at noon in its fifth-floor chambers in City Hall.
Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!
Ad:
Comments
No
By adamg
Tue, 10/27/2015 - 9:07pm
The city council can vote on this AND act on other issues. Amazing but true.
I'm pretty sure the rules of
By anon
Wed, 10/28/2015 - 9:16am
I'm pretty sure the rules of the city council only allow debate and voting on one item at a time. Any hours devoted to this are indeed lost to other pending measures.
Oh, sorry
By adamg
Wed, 10/28/2015 - 9:54am
I didn't realize you were unfamiliar with how the city council works, so here's a quick primer:
They discuss an issue and vote on it.
They take up another issue, discuss it and vote on it.
They repeat until done.
As for the present measure, I watched the Committee on Government Operations hearing on this measure yesterday. Chairman Flaherty introduced the proposed bill. BPD Commissioner Bill Evans spoke for about five minutes. The mayor's aide spoke for about two. Steve Murphy, chairman of the council's Committee on Public Safety spoke for about a minute. Flaherty concluded the hearing.
And now it comes up for a vote today.
No other measures have been harmed in the crafting of this proposed ordinance.
It sounds like it works
By anon
Wed, 10/28/2015 - 1:31pm
It sounds like it works exactly as anon described -- according to your account they were in fact not debating or voting on other measures while this one was on the floor.
In this day and age with all
By Mitch
Tue, 10/27/2015 - 9:17pm
In this day and age with all the crazy shit that has gone on lately, it seems changing the color, or other aesthetic aspects of toy guns is a no brainer.
Or maybe taxpayers should spends millions of dollars training cops to be able to tell the difference in a split seconds as peoples lives (including their own) are at risk what is real, and what is a toy.
Billy Evans was a great
By anon
Tue, 10/27/2015 - 11:02pm
Billy Evans was a great Deputy Superintendent and Superintendent but he is one of the worst Boston Police Commissioner we have ever had.
This is the police mentality and cops are too aggressive. In most cases it is not a race issue as it is I am the law and I am bad ass and you will do what I tell ya. 30% to 70% of cops should not be on the job.
It also should be a lot easier to fire an officer without being heavily protected by the union or civil service.
I know cops that lied about their residency and used someone else's address to get on BPD. Isn't this called fraud?
I know a cop that admitted taking illegal drugs after coming up dirty on a random drug test. I don't know about you but if I came up dirty on a drug test in my job or any of the other jobs that I have had all of these years I would have been fired.
I know people that would do the job for less because it's in their heart or this is how they want to do to help people but as you can tell from how the cops were complaining they do not get paid enough from the last time they got the raise.
Think of all the perks a Bpd officer gets. Most of the time they get out of DUI's, get into clubs, sporting events for free, get out of a speeding ticket so their car insurance doesn't go up, as well as their family members. I have seen cops get free food and coffee and not even leave a tip. It must be nice to make over 100k and rake in all the other additional benefits. Hopefully, in the future cops will not be paid as much because they are costing the taxpayers.
WTF are you trying to say
By Anthony
Wed, 10/28/2015 - 8:16am
Even though the Constitution protects your freedom of speech. However who exactly do you believe attempts to enforce all your rights when you have been wrong. Who do you call when a crime has been committed against you or other people that you know a police officer who arrives on the scene when lies are in jeopardy and put their lives on the back burner even though they may have families a police officer. I'm not a police officer but one thing I have done SAT quietly in a room close my eyes and put myself in their shoes within 10 minutes I'm hopping out of those shoes.
I can even bet that you're not a police officer in know nothing about law enforcement set for what you see you on TV. What gives you the right to judge. Don't be so hypocritical. Be my phone not all police offices are assholes and it's only a very few that are. And who gives a damn if they get the perks most of them deserve extra side, provided that it's not illegal. And as far as you unions of concern regardless of the outcome, unions are certainly needed for the advocacy of the little guy, the working stiff, the ones who clean up your ship when you drop trash on ground and other public servant duties that they carry out. This certainly have been more positive outcome from union activities in any negative that you can ever imagine.
Unfortunately happy positive things are not reported only as an editor from Channel 5 told me as a child growing up and one of the city's public housing, what bleeds leads and that was his answer to me why do they only report carnage I never forgot you for that. You left me , a child, in tears for making that statement.
I used to be and that's why I
By anon
Wed, 10/28/2015 - 12:15pm
I used to be and that's why I know o much about them. It's a lot worse than people know. You have no idea!
We're the toy guns made in
By anon
Wed, 10/28/2015 - 8:16am
We're the toy guns made in China or the USA or Mexico?
Pages