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The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled Wednesday that Boston police had “no reasonable ground” to deny an owner of a Roxbury business a gun license and ordered the department to issue him a license for self protection.
Richard Phipps owns Essential Body Herbs in Dudley Square with Wayne Atkinson, another Boston man. As an owner, Phipps is responsible for closing the store at night and making cash deposits at a local bank, according to a decision from the state’s Supreme Judicial Court on Wednesday.
After Phipps was robbed at gunpoint, Atkinson suggested he get a license to carry a gun.
Atkinson had been a "victim of two armed robberies while working at one of the business’s other locations,” according to court documents. "Because Atkinson was robbed twice at their business, and because Phipps was ‘carrying large sums of money,’ Atkinson advised Phipps that 'it was a very good idea for him to apply’ for a license to carry a firearm.”
Phipps went to a police station in Dorchester in April 2013 and applied for a license to carry a firearm with Officer Angela Coleman in the firearms licensing unit. She interviewed Phipps, took his handwritten application and entered his information into a new form on her computer, according to court documents.
“Despite Phipps telling Officer Coleman he needed a license for protection, Officer Coleman, on her own, typed in ‘sport and target’ as Phipps's reason for requesting a license,” according to the court documents.
Coleman told Phipps that the city was “not really give out license to carry,” but suggested that after receiving the initial license, he could apply to the commander of the licensing unit to have the restriction removed.
About five months later Phipps received a Class A license to carry a firearm, which was restricted to “target and hunting.” Following Coleman’s advice, he wrote a letter to Lieutenant Detective John McDonough, the commander of the licensing unit.
In the letter Phipps explained he is a business owner who regularly makes deposits of large sums of money. Phipps said he “frequently must visit high crime areas in Roxbury and Dorchester” and explained that he had been the victim of a violent crime near his business after closing the story, according to the court documents.
In a letter from Oct. 8, 2013 McDonough denied Phipps’s request, writing he had “not demonstrated a ‘proper purpose’ for holding an unrestricted license,” according to the court documents.
Phipps made an appointment to meet with McDonough at the police station to go over the decision. When he arrived McDonough asked him Phipps for his license. The detective put it in his pocket."
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court orders Boston police to reinstate Roxbury shopkeeper’s gun license
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled Wednesday that Boston police had “no reasonable ground” to deny an owner of a Roxbury business a gun license and ordered the department to issue him a license for self protection.
Richard Phipps owns Essential Body Herbs in Dudley Square with Wayne Atkinson, another Boston man. As an owner, Phipps is responsible for closing the store at night and making cash deposits at a local bank, according to a decision from the state’s Supreme Judicial Court on Wednesday.
After Phipps was robbed at gunpoint, Atkinson suggested he get a license to carry a gun.
Atkinson had been a "victim of two armed robberies while working at one of the business’s other locations,” according to court documents. "Because Atkinson was robbed twice at their business, and because Phipps was ‘carrying large sums of money,’ Atkinson advised Phipps that 'it was a very good idea for him to apply’ for a license to carry a firearm.”
Phipps went to a police station in Dorchester in April 2013 and applied for a license to carry a firearm with Officer Angela Coleman in the firearms licensing unit. She interviewed Phipps, took his handwritten application and entered his information into a new form on her computer, according to court documents.
“Despite Phipps telling Officer Coleman he needed a license for protection, Officer Coleman, on her own, typed in ‘sport and target’ as Phipps's reason for requesting a license,” according to the court documents.
Coleman told Phipps that the city was “not really give out license
About five months later Phipps received a Class A license to carry a firearm, which was restricted to “target and hunting.” Following Coleman’s advice, he wrote a letter to Lieutenant Detective John McDonough, the commander of the licensing unit.
In the letter Phipps explained he is a business owner who regularly makes deposits of large sums of money. Phipps said he “frequently must visit high crime areas in Roxbury and Dorchester” and explained that he had been the victim of a violent crime near his business after closing the story, according to the court documents.
In a letter from Oct. 8, 2013 McDonough denied Phipps’s request, writing he had “not demonstrated a ‘proper purpose’ for holding an unrestricted license,” according to the court documents.
Phipps made an appointment to meet with McDonough at the police station to go over the decision. When he arrived McDonough asked him Phipps for his license. The detective put it in his pocket."
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court orders Boston police to reinstate Roxbury shopkeeper’s gun license
