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Crime, Law and Justice
Matt Sepic

‘We can save lives:’ Ramsey County prosecutor pushes use of ‘red flag’ gun law

A man speaks at a podium
Ramsey County Attorney John Choi, right, speaks to reporters on Thursday alongside St. Paul City Attorney Lyndsey Olson and St. Paul Deputy Police Chief Josh Lego.
Peter Cox | MPR News

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Ramsey County Attorney John Choi is urging law enforcement to make full use of Minnesota’s red flag law.

Enacted in January, the measure allows judges to temporarily seize a person’s firearms if they might harm themselves or others.

Choi said Thursday that police officers and sheriff’s deputies who send cases to prosecutors will follow a checklist to determine if an extreme-risk protection order, or ERPO, is appropriate in a particular circumstance. If it is, Choi said his office will petition the court for one even in instances where criminal charges may not be warranted.

“We want to be intentional about how we receive this information, then most importantly make sure that when we receive that information that we’re actually going to do something about it,” Choi said.

Under the law, 14-day emergency firearm seizures require a person to give up their guns immediately. Long-term ERPOs take effect only after a hearing so that the gun owner may challenge the petition.

Choi’s news conference followed a training session for about 150 people including law enforcement, assistant county attorneys, mental health professionals, and advocates for victims of domestic violence.

“We’re going to cooperate, and at the end of the day do everything we can to prevent tragedies from happening and look at our work as potential homicide or suicide prevention,” Choi said.

St. Paul City Attorney Lyndsey Olson, whose office prosecutes misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor cases, noted that the law does not require that a crime occur for an ERPO to be issued.

“This is a civil tool so that the focus is on removing that gun from a person who might harm someone when there might not be any other criminal activity present in a certain situation,” Olson said.

Besides city and county attorneys, the red flag law allows family and member of a person’s household to petition for an ERPO.

In the first eight months since the law took effect, court statistics show that 77 extreme-risk protection orders were filed statewide, mostly by law enforcement. Half were the result of a domestic violence risk, and three-quarters involved someone with a history of mental illness.

MPR News reporter Peter Cox contributed to this report.

A 24-hour statewide sexual violence and domestic violence hotline is available in Minnesota. You can call Minnesota Day One at (866) 223-1111 or text (612) 399-9995 to connect to resources closest to where you live.