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Cranston City Council Again Takes Aim at Police Shooting Range; Police Chief Opposes, Mayor’s Veto Looms

December 22, 2025/RINewsToday

As the Cranston City Council prepares to hold a special Council meeting called for TONIGHT, Monday, Dec. 22nd, just days before Christmas, one agenda item seeks to advance a long-running rant by a few Cranstonians over the city’s police shooting range. With several new Council members hearing about the issue for the first time, it has garnered some support without the benefit of history or where the Council in its consideration.

The issue in question has to do with the Cranston Police Firearms Training Range. Various arguments have been made to move it, alter it, or close it. None of them have gone any further than emotional appeals made by a few property owners in the area, and the anti-noise advocates from Providence who also worked to eliminate gas powered leaf blowers.

The issue has always been the sound of gunshots disturbing residents. In the last few years, the argument morphed to include how the firearm sounds were desensitizing school children and preventing them from doing their studies or exams at Cranston West and Western Hills. That argument didn’t go anywhere, with no complaints filed by parents, students, or faculty/staff.

WPRI did a sound test and while it found increased decibels outside the school, once inside, the monitors registered zero.

It’s been fairly quiet for over a year on the gun range. But – the issue has been raised again now that the Council has new members, and at the Special City Council Meeting today they will vote to send a new resolution to the Ordinance Committee. This time the main issue is noise pollution – the ordinance proposes significant changes in the training range.

Here is the ordinance:

Ordinance in amendment of Title 8, Chapter 20, Section 070 of the City of Cranston Code of Ordinances, 2005, entitled “Special Activities”. Sponsored by Councilman Traficante. Co-sponsored by Councilman Andujar and Councilwoman Graziano. To be referred to Ordinance Committee January 7, 2026.

The ordinance would restrict who uses the range, the times of usage, and requires all weapons to have suppressors – with a 75 decibel maximum at any time. Notably, silencers, even when purchased in bulk, must be unique to each type of weapon and can cost as much as $1,000 each.

City strongly supports use of Training Range 

When asked for a comment, Cranston Police Chief Winquist provided this statement:
“I am aware of the proposed ordinance and remain strongly opposed to any restrictions on the use of the department’s range. The incident at Brown University underscores the critical importance of comprehensive police training, particularly for the worst-case scenarios.
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Speaking for the city, Anthony Moretti, Chief of Staff to Cranston Mayor Hopkins, provided this statement in response to the proposed ordinance changes:  “In recent years, Mayor Hopkins and Colonel Winquist have implemented several policies and physical accommodations to reduce and mitigate sound resulting from use of the police range.  This administration will continue further sound mitigation that is practical and affordable to our taxpayers.
As recent as a month or so ago, the Colonel testified in front of the city council and effectively communicated how the police department has been a good neighbor in addressing concerns of certain neighbors. The bottom line is that there needs to be a balance between considerate use of the grange and mandatory police training
The mayor believes that Colonel Winquist and the Cranston Police Department are doing all they can to strike that balance.  As such, the mayor will continue to support the Cranston Police Department and their training efforts to serve and protect our residents especially in these unsettling times.
Any ordinance to diminish their effectiveness to protect our residents will meet with a mayoral veto.”
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The Special Cranston City Council meeting will take place TONIGHT from 6 to 6:30 – and can be attended in person, on ZOOM (or watched on YouTube, live).
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