Gun Violence Restraining Orders

In The California Legal Update (Vol. 24, #9; August 30, 2019), I wrote an Administrative Note on “Red Flag Statutes” dealing with the procedures for law enforcement officers and/or “immediate family members” (soon to be expanded to educators, employers and co-workers, under recently enacted AB 61) to seek a court petition (sometimes referred to as “Extreme Risk Protection Orders,” (or “ERPOs”) for the seizure of firearms from individuals who are a danger to themselves or to others, offering you a copy of the statutes themselves (combined with my long-published “Mental Patients and Weapons” Outline). In response, I was turned on to a patrol officer with the Escondido Police Department (Officer Craig S. Bond; CBond@escondido.org) who has not only used the Red Flag Statute petition process, but also written up a short step-by-step procedural outline on how it is done. Officer Bond has graciously consented for me to pass along his outline to anyone who would like to see it. Recognizing the simple fact that immediate family members cannot realistically be expected to use these procedures themselves to take guns away from mentally unstable relatives, if it is to be done it must be done by a law enforcement officer. Officer Bond and I both agree, therefore, that this is a procedure with which officers should be more familiar and, in the appropriate case, ready to use. If you’d like a copy of Officer Bond’s ....

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