Old Lyme ― The resident state trooper in charge of the town’s police department is hoping local officers will finally get the long guns other departments in the area have had for years.

Resident State Trooper Matt Weber, head of the department since 2020, said he’s not aware of any other towns under the jurisdiction of the Westbrook state police barracks that don’t have rifles in their armories.

He said he’s been advocating for their purchase since he arrived but found officials weren’t “really keen” on the idea.

“In this day and age, my guys need them,’ he said.

Weber is currently responsible for four full-time and three part-time officers with full police powers. There is an additional recruit at the police academy through July and one vacant position currently being advertised.

Weber’s initial request for nine Colt Carbine M4 semiautomatic rifles and 10 Glock 45 handguns was reduced by the Board of Selectmen on Monday to seven rifles and the handguns.

Selectmen voted to make a recommendation to the Board of Finance supporting the $11,000 rifle purchase, the $7,500 handgun purchase, and $11,000 for ammunition.

“You see active aggressors every day all across the country and it’s just standard equipment right now for every law enforcement agency,” he said about the rifles.

Weber has the authority to supervise and direct local police operations, while the town is responsible for administrative functions.

Selectman Matt Ward, a retired trooper and current part-time officer in Old Lyme, voted on the recommendation along with the other two selectmen. He said there’s been a call for long guns in the department since the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School that left 26 dead.

Ward said a rifle can only be taken out of its secure position in the officer’s vehicle with authorization from the supervisor at the Westbrook state police barracks.

“I think it’s a fair request to keep our officers safe and keep the community safe,” Ward said. “I don’t think they're going to be deployed in any way that’s unsafe.”

Ward said every state trooper is now issued a rifle after graduating from the academy. But he added there’s not always going to be a trooper “around the corner” when emergencies arise.

That’s the same reasoning behind Weber’s push to outfit his officers with their own rifles. He invoked the Sandy Hook tragedy as proof that shootings happen everywhere, including close to home.

“My guys are on duty on both shifts, evening and day shifts, and it’s going to be my Old Lyme officer that’s going to be the first one in that door,” he said.

And it’s not just schools where shootings can happen, he emphasized. They can happen at stores, industrial sites, routine domestic calls and on the road.

“We have Interstate 95 that goes through with drugs and illegal arms going up and down the East Coast,” he said. “We’re right here.”

Weber said the 10 handguns are being requested to replace the Sig Sauer models that are reaching the end of their useful life. He said the department initially chose the brand because that’s what the state police used at the time, though state police recently switched to Glock.

He said the rifles and handguns he’s requesting are the same models currently used by state police, which is advantageous because of the working relationship between the larger agency and his smaller one.

Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker, describing her own viewpoint on the issue as mixed, said she felt guilty about making a recommendation in support of the purchase without giving residents a chance to speak out on the issue.

First Selectman Tim Griswold noted each officer’s rifle will be secured safely in the vehicle. Plus, “it’s not like they’re walking around with it over their shoulder,” he said.

Monday’s meeting did not include an opportunity for public comment. Resident Candace Fuchs told The Day afterward that she thought there should be more open communication and transparency on such an important topic.

She noted the Board of Education voted last year to implement armed security guards in schools in a 7-2 vote.

She said arming security guards with handguns and officers with rifles amounts to a “fundamental change” to the small-town feel in Old Lyme.

She questioned how officers would be trained to use the new handguns and rifles.

Weber Monday night said both systems will include a two-day training course that’s included in the department’s normal operating budget.

Shoemaker after the meeting reiterated her mixed feelings after having retired as a teacher from the Waterford school system.

She said officers in that town had rifles.

“They didn't have to use them, but they were trained,” she said.

Fuchs said more conversation about plans for the new guns could help ease a lot of concerns.

“I just don’t know if it’d make our communities safer or not,” Fuchs said.

e.regan@theday.com