At the Monday, July 18th meeting of the Tompkins County Public Safety Committee, County District Attorney Matt VanHouten discussed increased utilization of ERPO (Extreme Risk Protection Orders), by law enforcement.
“We’ve been doing a lot of those; almost several a week I would say, since the two most recent events that made them more, even more relevant and on people’s minds,” VanHouten said, presumably in reference to shootings that occurred in Buffalo, NY and Uvalde, Texas.
Also known as Red Flag law proceedings, ERPO are a civil proceeding where attorneys from the District Attorney’s office appear on behalf of law enforcement agencies in Supreme Court to address concerns about individuals who are in distress or expressing a desire to harm themselves or other people. The ERPO restricts someone’s ability to possess firearms and to buy them for one year after the date of the order.
In addition to law enforcement, District Attorneys, family or household members, Principals or other school officers, physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, registered nurses, licensed clinical social workers, certified clinical nurse specialists, certified nurse practitioners, licensed clinical marriage and family therapists, registered professional nurses, licensed master social workers and licensed mental health counselors may petition for an ERPO, provided they have treated the subject within the previous six months.
If a petitioner believes that an individual is likely to engage in conduct that would result in
serious harm to self or others, behaviors and acts relevant to an ERPO include; A threat or act of violence or use of physical force directed toward self or another person; A violation or alleged violation of an Order of Protection; A pending charge or conviction for an offense involving the use of a weapon; The reckless use, display or brandishing of a firearm, rifle or shotgun; A history of a violation of an Extreme Risk Protection Order; Evidence of recent or ongoing abuse of controlled substances or alcohol; Evidence of recent acquisition of a firearm, rifle, shotgun or other deadly weapon or dangerous instrument, or any ammunition.
The New York State application for a Extreme Risk Protection Order can be viewed here. The full meeting of the Public Safety Committee can be found on the county YouTube page here.
Extreme Risk Protection Order