News

21 Quincy police officers placed on leave for expired gun licenses

QUINCY, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com) – Part of a police officer's job is to carrying a gun, but now more than 20 officers in Quincy are off the job after a surprise inspection found they had expired gun permits.

The news stunned lot of people and some Quincy residents are outraged that 15 patrol officers and six supervisors are now on paid leave.

In Quincy, all officers must a have a gun permit to work, and sources told FOX 25 it's up to both a records secretary and the officer to make sure their gun licenses are renewed in a timely matter. Obviously, that didn't happen, and Quincy residents FOX 25 spoke to want some answers.

A spokesman for Quincy's mayor says the mayor was concerned about having so many members of the department out, but says the police chief has assured that all shifts will be fully staffed.
    
FOX 25 reached to the Quincy Police Department, but they refused to comment. Apparently, Quincy police officers must have valid gun permits in order to work for the department, but we've learned that's not the case everywhere.            
    
Some departments allow officers to carry guns "on the badge," meaning they don't need a permit. The badge itself gives them the right to carry the gun.    

There was a case in Quincy last year where the chief revoked an officer's gun permit. That officer was then fired because officers are required to have a permit to be employed with the department, according to the human resources director. That case is still pending.