Use Of Red Flag Laws Varies Widely Among Police Depending On The State Where They Have Been Enacted
LAPPL News Watch
April 24, 2019
In December, a man in Monroe, Washington, was arrested after posting images of himself on Facebook wearing a gas mask, holding an AR-style rifle, and surrounded by white power iconography. He also posted repeated threats to kill “30 Jews” and commit a school shooting.
Local authorities charged the man with felony threatening, but two days before, they used a so-called extreme risk protection order (ERPO) to seize a dozen of his guns.
ERPOs, commonly referred to as red flag laws, allow a third party — depending on the state, it can be a police officer, family member, school official, or mental health provider — to petition a judge for a warrant to seize legally owned guns if someone is determined to be an immediate threat to themselves or others.
In the Washington case, local authorities believed the man “posed a significant danger in the near future,” Courtney O’Keefe, a spokesperson for the Snohomish County Sheriff, said in an email.
No comments:
Post a Comment