Ford sorry he left gun in office

Worcester Telegram and Gazette ^ | 14 March 2002 | Mike Elfland

[45Auto]

As he awaits court action on a firearms charge, social service center administrator Adrian L. Ford said yesterday he will not dodge responsibility for leaving his loaded gun in his unlocked office. Two sixth-graders are accused of stealing the gun and taking it to B.F. Brown Middle School. “For 30 years I have been challenging people to take responsibility, personal responsibility,” Mr. Ford said. “I'd feel like a hypocrite if I didn't let people know how I really feel.”

In an interview yesterday, Mr. Ford, chief administrator of Three Pyramids social service center, said the matter of the stolen gun has been difficult for him because of what could have happened and because it affected so many people, particularly pupils and staff at B.F. Brown. He said he is remorseful.

“I thank God that no physical harm resulted from this incident; that's what stays in my mind,” he said. Mr. Ford was charged by police with improper storage of a firearm -- and his firearms identification card was revoked -- after the pupils allegedly took Mr. Ford's .25-caliber handgun from a briefcase in his third-floor office at Three Pyramids, 66 Day St.

The theft occurred Jan. 28. The next day, the youths brought the gun to school, where Principal Bernard A. DiPasquale found it after being tipped off by their classmates, police said. The two pupils have been expelled and face juvenile court charges of larceny of a firearm and gun possession. Mr. Ford, 55, who is scheduled to be arraigned on the firearm charge April 29, said he decided to speak out after he determined it would be wrong to downplay the seriousness of the situation. Since the Columbine shootings, he said, guns and schools are a mix that can fray nerves, even if the gun is not fired.

“I want to publicly say that I am profoundly sorry,” Mr. Ford said. “and I apologize particularly to the parents, the students, the teachers, the staff and especially the principal at B.F. Brown for any emotional harm I might have caused.” Mr. Ford said the gun was taken from his office while he was elsewhere in the Three Pyramids building. He was out of his office for a few minutes, he said.

“It only takes a second,” he said. “That's what people have to understand. It only takes a second for someone to pick up a gun and for something to happen.”

Mr. Ford said he had carried the semiautomatic gun for three decades, dating to his involvement in civil rights issues and other social movements. His activism generated threats to his family, he said. He kept the gun tucked in his shoulder-style briefcase and was confident it was safe, he said.

He did not realize the gun was stolen until investigators inquired if he knew it was missing, according to police reports. The youths apparently told police the source of the gun. When police came to his office to ask about the gun found at the school, Mr. Ford turned over a second gun he owned, a .44-caliber handgun.

[45Auto]

Like sheep to the slaughter. I fear for the RKBA throughout the land, especially with such willing and cooperative sheep like this loony. O.K., so the damn government of Massachusettts revoked his permit to carry; the requirement for a license is unconstitutional, never mind the rotten nazis in the legislature. So is that reason enough to give up ALL your guns? After all, the guy has not been convicted of ANYTHING. But, no, he gives up his rights willingly, even though he is the VICTIM of these little rats. HE has made himself the problem and of course, even though he has owned and carried the gun for 30 years, he has bought the notion that the gun is "evil" in and by itself, so he gladly allows the police to relieve him of the responsibility for ALL the weapons he used to own. He'll never get them back; the cops will sell them or keep them as "hideouts". Massachusetts, the cradle of liberty, is finished, just like England.

[EBUCK]

At least he admits responsibility. That's rare these days. And a liberal social worker to boot. Wait a minute, a liberal social worker, a .25 and a .44, this don't add up at all. I'd like to see if this guy has ever supported gun control in the past.

EBUCK

[luvzhottea]

So the honest citizen is the BAD GUY because some THIEVES stole his firearm out of his briefcase in his office?
UGH!
2nd Amendment Rights:
Attacks on American Muslims Reaffirm Wisdom of 2nd Amendment

Gun Owners of America

Women Against Gun Control

The Firearms Coalition NEAL KNOX

[DoughtyOne]

Yep, you've nailed it. Crooks go free and those who seek to protect themselves are punished. If the guns were in the brief case out of sight, I find it stupid in the extreme to charge this guy. Throw the little AHs in the nearest juvenile facility and let this man get back to work!

[Frohickey]

Wow. Someone sucking on the government's teat that have actually preached about personal responsibility and is going to take responsiblity for their actions as well.

Someone better watch this guy. Must be a space alien or something. Something is not right in Kansas, Dorothy. ;)

[luvzhottea]

Throw the little AHs in the nearest juvenile facility and let this man get back to work!

Maybe there should be a return to public flogging for these little punks.
Maybe then they wouldnt' be so eager to commit these crimes.

[mamelukesabre]

Responsibility for what? He was robbed. It isn't like he left it in plain sight. If the door to his office was closed and the briefcase was closed, that's good enough for me.

[Mulder]

bang

[mn12]

Wait a minute, a liberal social worker, a .25 and a .44, this don't add up at all.

And throw this in: “For 30 years I have been challenging people to take responsibility, personal responsibility”

You're right, that REALLY doesn't add up! Maybe there's such a thing as a conservative social worker? Stranger things have happened, I guess...

[riverrunner]

You are so right.

[AStack75]

Link to article

This happened in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

At least he admits responsibility.

Yes. When someone steals something from you, it is your fault. </sarcasm>

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[DoughtyOne]

Now now, we mustn't damage their self-image...

[RogueIsland]

If the door to his office was closed and the briefcase was closed, that's good enough for me.

I don't know how we got to this point in society where the victim of a robbery has now become responsible for having the stuff stolen. Sure, he could have secured the firearm better. But we could all move into decommissioned missile silos and install twenty-ton vault doors to protect our stuff too (let's all face it -- that's where safe storage laws are headed. Eventually, you'll have to have the equivalent of a home vault in which you must store your unloaded guns, separate from the ammunition, 24x7 or you'll be a felon).

[EBUCK]

Not good enough for me if there are a bunch of kids running around. It's not like leaving a screw driver in your briefcase, it's a gun man. Gotta keep control of your firearms at all times.(period) End of story. And by taking resp. for his actions I commend this guy.

mn12, If it's stranger than a dually armed social worker, I've never seen it.

EBUCK

[mamelukesabre]

Yes, its a gun. But it was in his private office. Kids have no business snooping around in his private office.

Now, if it was widely known that this guy kept a gun in his office, that is a different story. But it seems it was a secret that he kept one hidden in his brief case. Some nosey kids just decided to snoop through his personal things to see what they could find.

You gotta ask yourself what kind of kid would go through the personal possessions of an authority figure and take what catches his eye. That kid is SERIOUS trouble. There is probably zero future for a kid like that except JAIL. Ford was just very unlucky.

What if he had left his wedding ring in the center drawer of his desk? If someone had taken that, you wouldn't blame ford for it. You'd blame the little criminal that swiped it! This is no different.

[EBUCK]

What if he had left his wedding ring in the center drawer of his desk? If someone had taken that, you wouldn't blame ford for it. You'd blame the little criminal that swiped it! This is no different.

You know what I'm going to say to that don't you? Here it is anyway. There has to be a lot more care taken with respect to firearms than with a peice of jewlery.

I guess that I should have said before that I do hold this kid responible, a hell of a lot more so than Ford. But I still think that he should have taken better care to make sure that his firearms were under his control which they obviously were not.

EBUCK

[marktwain]

There has to be a lot more care taken with respect to firearms than with a peice of jewlery

Yes, but no more so than a power saw or an automobile. We don't take away a persons drivers license because their car was stolen. This is about demonizing firearms, period.

[EBUCK]

It's not, IMO, about demonizing firearms. It's about having control of your firearms. If this guy had just put his weapon in a secure location (I'm sure that he's got a filing cabinet in his office for ex.) that kid wouldn't have had the chance.

How many time have you told a kid to not do something and then he does it anyway? How often do kids rumage thru stuff that doesn't belong to them? I'm not talking about your kids, (or mine for that matter) I'm talking about the kind of kids you find in a Social Services office. The kind of kids that have never had a descent whoopin' in their short lives. This guy knows what kind of kids he's got running around his office and should have done a better job in securing his firearms.

EBUCK