Bourne Police Chief Brandon Esip is serving a five-day unpaid suspension after an independent investigation found he left his service belt, holstered firearm and all, sitting unattended on a lobby bench at police headquarters while two civilians were nearby. The incident happened on June 9, 2026, when Esip returned to headquarters after a range training session and set the belt down while moving delivery boxes, according to the report.
The belt sat unattended for about three minutes starting around 2:27 p.m. before another officer secured it, as reported by Boston 25 News. The firearm itself was unloaded, with no ammunition or magazines inside, but it remained within reach of the two civilians who were in the lobby at the time. A police lieutenant raised the allegations against Esip, triggering the review.
Attorney Christopher L. Brown conducted the independent investigation and determined the circumstances were less severe than comparable cases specifically because the weapon was unloaded and left unattended only briefly. Even so, Brown found that Esip's conduct warranted discipline, concluding that the chief's actions violated three separate Bourne Police Department policies requiring officers to maintain control and security of firearms at all times. Surveillance video corroborated the sequence of events described in the report, which was dated August 3, 2026, and submitted to Bourne Town Administrator Marlene McCollem.
Town Administrator Calls It a Serious Infraction
Brown said maintaining custody and control of firearms is a serious responsibility for law enforcement leaders, a standard he applied in evaluating Esip's conduct. McCollem, in turn, called the act a serious infraction even as she described the incident overall as an unintended mistake. She ultimately suspended Esip without pay for five days, a penalty that took effect on August 20, 2026.
Massachusetts law sets a demanding bar for firearm security regardless of an officer's rank or license status. Under state law, gun owners face strict liability for failing to keep weapons secured unless the firearm is under their immediate control, a standard courts have defined narrowly as being close enough to prevent unauthorized access, according to Ellison Law LLC. That statutory framework was expanded in October 2024 under Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2024, which broadened the types of weapons subject to secure-storage rules and stiffened penalties for violations.
How the Suspension Compares Statewide
Esip's five-day suspension lands within a range of statewide outcomes for similar lapses. Disciplinary actions across Massachusetts for unsecured firearms have run from written warnings to 20-day unpaid suspensions paired with retraining. A Plymouth police captain received a 20-day unpaid suspension after leaving a service weapon in a courthouse bathroom, while a Barnstable police sergeant was hit with a 10-day unpaid suspension for leaving a loaded firearm in a restaurant bathroom where a child later discovered it.
Statewide POST Commission disciplinary records updated through July 31, 2026, show that sustained internal affairs allegations against active officers for unprofessional conduct or policy violations most often result in administrative suspensions of one to 10 days, according to the Massachusetts POST Commission. In a separate but comparable case in August 2026, a New Bedford police officer received a three-day unpaid suspension after an internal probe found she failed to render emergency first aid at a fatal accident scene, per The New Bedford Light.
Mandatory Reporting and a Chief With Regional Reach
Under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 6E and 555 CMR 1.01, local police agencies are required to report credible misconduct complaints or internal disciplinary actions to the state's Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission within two business days, a requirement established under the Commonwealth's 2020 police reform law. Formal suspension orders also trigger the immediate surrender of department-issued credentials, badges, equipment, and service weapons, per POST Commission procedures.
Esip has spent nearly two decades rising through the Bourne Police Department, joining in 2006 and advancing from patrol officer to sergeant in 2012, then administrative lieutenant in 2015, before being named permanent chief in 2022, according to CapeCod.com. The department covers roughly 41 square miles and nearly 20,000 residents with about 45 sworn officers, five dispatchers and four civilian staff, overseeing major transit corridors including the Bourne and Sagamore bridges.
Esip's authority has grown well beyond patrol duties in recent years. In October 2024, the Bourne Select Board voted to dissolve the town's standalone Emergency Management Department and fold its operations into the police department under his supervision. He also currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association as the regional representative for Barnstable County and the Islands for the 2025–2026 term, giving the suspension added visibility among law enforcement leaders across Cape Cod.
