In the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings, Police Chief Michael Kehoe this week expressed his personal views on gun control with the goal of preventing such heinous crimes from occurring again.
"I do favor a ban on the sale of assault rifles, until such time as we can figure out, as a society, what we want to be," Chief Kehoe said. "I don't believe we want every citizen armed to the teeth," he added.
Until now, the chief has not commented about his own views on the gun control issue.
On December 14, a 20-year-old gunman who shot his way into Sandy Hook School with a military-style semiautomatic assault rifle, shot and killed 20 first-graders, four teachers, and two school administrators.
Before that incident, the shooter, Adam Lanza of Sandy Hook, had shot and killed his mother, Nancy Lanza, 52, at their Yogananda Street home. After police responded to the school on a report of a shooting incident under way, Lanza shot and killed himself.
State police are spearheading an extensive investigation into the incident in seeking to learn exactly what happened and learn Lanza's motives for the crimes.
Chief Kehoe said police recognize that the possession of assault weapons has proliferated in America. Such firearms are the type of guns that are used by the military, he said.
"I don't know if [assault weapons] have a place in our society for protection," he said.
The police chief endorsed having added restrictions placed on people acquiring assault-style firearms. He said he does not have specific recommendations. He said he is still considering what would make for workable restrictions on the acquisition of assaultstyle firearms.
"I don't want to see an assault weapon in every household," Chief Kehoe said.
As one restriction on the use of such firearms, Chief Kehoe suggested that they only be used at firing ranges.
The several firearms that Adam Lanza used on December 14 were weapons legally owned by his mother, police have said.
Of the horrific incident, Chief Kehoe said, "We need to do something†This is a wakeup call for meaningful change."
The police chief said he is seeking to balance the competing interests of gun control with the right to bear arms.
Chief Kehoe said he favors increasing the restrictions on the sale of assault-style firearms with the goal of preventing future incidents such as the one at Sandy Hook School.
Chief Kehoe characterized the National Rifle Association's (NRA) proposal to position armed guards in every school in the nation as "absolutely preposterous." Also, proposals to arm teachers and to arm principals fall into the same category, he said.
People do not enter the teaching profession with the intent of having to carry a gun to protect children, Chief Kehoe said.
Chief Kehoe, who joined the police department in 1978, worked for a decade in the schools as a police youth officer/school resource officer.
The police chief said he supports the Second Amendment to the US Constitution, which states the public's right to bear arms. "I respect the Constitution," Chief Kehoe said. But, he added, "I want to keep our community safe."
Chief Kehoe asked why anyon would need a 30-round ammunition clip on a rifle such as the clips that were used by Lanza at the school. "It's a killing machine," he said. However, using a 30-round clip would be acceptable for target shooting at a firing range where such guns' use would be regulated, the police chief said.
In view of the unsettled local atmosphere present since the December 14 shootings, police are positioning two officers at each town school property for the foreseeable future.
The students who formerly attended the Sandy Hook School at 12 Dickinson Drive currently are attending classes at a Monroe school that has been converted for their use.
Police have physically secured the Dickinson Drive school, deeming it off limits to the public.
That school building now has a tall chain-link perimeter fence around it. The fence is topped with multiple strands of outward-facing barbed wire. The school building has been secured and police stand guard there.
Such measures will remain in effect there for the foreseeable future, Chief Kehoe said.
Anyone who illegally attempts to enter the Sandy Hook School site will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, according to the chief.
The town is holding public discussion sessions on the future of the Dickinson Drive school building.
At a January 8 Police Commission meeting, Chief Kehoe said that he and police Captain Joe Rios have been meeting with a panel of school officials to discuss providing heightened security for local schools.
Chief Kehoe said that during the coming weeks and months, the ten-member panel will be making plans for enhanced school security.
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