Weapons overkill

This week, Massachusetts wisely suspended a controversial program that distributes a variety of high-powered US military weapons to police departments across the state. Kevin M. Burke, secretary of public safety, is reviewing how it is run, the weapons involved, and the communities that get them.

According to a Globe report, some 82 local police departments in the state have obtained more than 1,000 weapons over the last 15 years under a federal program that distributes surplus guns from the US military. The surplus includes semi-automatic rifles, sniper rifles, and grenade launchers, and the guns have gone to small towns like Wellfleet, Marblehead, and Hamilton, and bigger communities like Worcester, Framingham, and Revere.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino already called off Boston Police Department plans to put semiautomatic M-16 rifles in the hands of patrol officers. The Boston police had obtained 200 M-16s, and planned to give them to dozens of officers after training.

Menino backed away from the plan after some community leaders criticized the lack of public notice and questioned the reasoning behind it.

It’s an election year in Boston. That makes Menino more sensitive to community reaction than Framingham Police Lieutenant Paul Shastany, who told the Globe, “The decision belongs with police officials, not the public.’’

Perhaps. But the public has a right to know about it and to be reassured that those with access to the weapons are properly trained in their use.

Burke said that what law enforcement officials really need from the federal government is money for police training, better communication systems, and improved facilities. But, like it or not, police also need upgraded weapons, he said. As Burke put it: “It’s a complicated world out there.’’

But let’s not make it more complicated than necessary.

Grenade-launchers ordered by West Springfield were intended to shoot tear-gas canisters in crowd-control or hostage situations. They have been mothballed for more than a decade, suggesting they weren’t needed in the first place.

At Salem State College, Police Chief William G. Anglin said the two M-16s he ordered were for the campus police color guard. They would be unloaded and used solely for ceremonial purposes, he promised. But why risk it? “Free’’ is not the same thing as “essential.’’