State police chief's son faces charge of improper weapons storage after hearing in Barnstable

BARNSTABLE — The son of the state police Superintendent, Christopher Mason, will face charges relating to improper weapons storage, Lawrence District Court Clerk-Magistrate Keith McDonough ruled at a public show cause hearing Tuesday in Barnstable District Court.

Reid Mason, 22, of West Barnstable was alleged to have improperly stored five firearms and ammunition in a Feb. 28 incident in Hyannis, according to Barnstable Police Department Lt. Joseph Green at the hearing.

Green read from a police report about the Feb. 28 incident, he said.

The police report itself is being withheld by police due to state law regarding the names or addresses of individuals contained or referred to in any license or application for a license to carry firearms, Barnstable Police Lt. Mark Mellyn said in an email.

What police say happened on Feb. 28

At approximately 12:15 a.m., two on-duty Barnstable police officers who were not in uniform saw a man lying halfway out of the driver side of a black Jeep parked outside of the 19th Hole Tavern in Hyannis, Green said.

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The officers identified theperson as Reid Mason, Green said, and asked if he required medical attention. Mason told the officers that he did not need medical help and that he was just sleeping. The officers did not request paramedic help.

The officers noted in the report, according to Green, the overwhelming smell of alcohol coming from the Jeep, as well as Mason's "red and glassy eyes" and his disoriented behavior.

Police say they took guns from Reid Masons' car during the incident

Green said that the officers saw five firearms in the passenger seat. They also found two backpacks with ammunition in the back of the car.

The guns were not loaded, Green said, reading from the report, but they told Mason they were suspending his license to carry a firearm. The officers seized the guns and the ammunition.

Mason left the scene with a relative, Green said. No sobriety test was performed.

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On March 2, Barnstable police officers took the last firearm listed on Mason's license from his home.

An application for a criminal complaint by the Barnstable police department was filed with the Cape and Islands District Attorney's office.

No laws were broken, attorney Peter Lloyd said

Peter Lloyd, the Barnstable attorney representing Mason, argued in court on Tuesday that Mason did not break the law, as the car was not running and he was not driving.

Mason also showed control over his firearms because they were in the passenger seat next to him, Lloyd said.

McDonough found probable cause, though, to move forward with the police department's application for criminal complaint. Mason will be served a summons, McDonough said Tuesday.

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Reid Mason has worked for Truro Fire Department since October 2019 and has completed all the coursework at Massasoit Community College required to become a paramedic, according to Lloyd. Mason has since been suspended without pay due to the current investigation, Lloyd said. Reid Mason was born in Michigan and grew up in Barnstable, he said.

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Christopher Mason has been head of the state police since 2019. Prior to that, he was an investigator for the Cape and Islands District Attorney's Office for 17 years and was a major part of the investigation of the 2002 murder of Christa Worthington of Truro.

Mason inherited a state police force reeling from several scandals, including alleged overtime abuse and discriminatory hiring practices.

At the 2019 press conference after his appointment to state police superintendent, Mason pledged to focus on police accountability and conduct, increase diversity in the state police and reassess training practices by the force

On Tuesday, Lloyd addressed the media outside the courthouse and said Reid Mason did not break the law. But the judge ruled and Lloyd said he respects that decision.

The Cape and Islands District Attorney's Office did not respond to a request for comment.

Contact Sarah Carlon at scarlon@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter: @sarcarlon.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Son of MA State Police chief faces charge of improper weapons storage