Police have increased use of Maine’s “yellow flag” law since mass shootings

There has been a huge jump in law enforcement requests for Maine courts to allow guns to be confiscated from people deemed a danger to themselves or others since the deadliest mass shooting in state history, the governor said Friday.

Maine’s extreme risk protection order law was strengthened after an Army reservist killed 18 people at two locations in Lewiston last October. Since the attacks, the law has been used 15 times more than it was in the previous three years, Gov. Janet Mills said at a news conference.

“It’s clear that in the wake of last year’s tragedy, more and more law enforcement officers across the state are taking this law seriously, have received state-provided training in its use, and are now using it daily to bring out the firearms in them. who shouldn’t have them,” Mills said.

The governor did not say how often courts have accepted requests under the enhanced statute. Gun control advocates say these so-called yellow flag and red flag laws are crucial to keeping firearms out of the hands of dangerous people, including those with serious mental illnesses. Some in the gun lobby argue that such laws violate people’s constitutional right to bear arms.

Mills’ press conference came hours after state police released a report outlining lessons learned from the Oct. 25, 2023 mass shooting and making multiple recommendations for improving tactical response, incident management, training and other areas .

One of the report’s main recommendations is for state police to incorporate new active shooter training “for a more coordinated response during significant incidents and/or mass casualty incidents.”

The shooting took place at a bowling alley and a bar and grill. The shooter was later revealed to be an army reservist whose mental health had deteriorated in the months before the attacks.

Shooter Robert Card was found dead of gunshot wounds following a lengthy manhunt. Mills commissioned an independent commission to look into the circumstances surrounding the attack.

The commission released its own report last month, and Mills commented on it publicly for the first time on Friday. The report states that the Army Reserve and the police missed opportunities to intervene in Card’s psychiatric crisis and initiate steps to confiscate his weapons.

The governor said he agreed with those conclusions. She also said the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office could have invoked the protection-from-harm order, but did not. In fact, there are no documented cases of the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office ever using the warrant before the shootings, state records say.

“Essentially, this tragedy was caused by a colossal failure of human judgment by multiple people, on multiple occasions; gross negligence which – as the commission rightly stated – was an abdication of responsibility,” Mills said.

Mills also acknowledged the recently released findings of the state police review. The New England State Police Administrators Compact will conduct an independent review of the new report, state police said. Mills said he applauded that move.

The state police report wasn’t just an outline of what went wrong. It also details the areas where the authorities have met the best practice standards. In a section evaluating the work of the Maine State Police Tactical Team, officials concluded that “the manhunt was an overall success,” with the card located within 48 hours without further harm to the public or law enforcement.

But the report also highlighted other problems, including an “overwhelming and uncontrolled influx” of autonomous officers on the scene.

The report describes the response to two 911 calls from Card’s mother’s home. As a tactical unit prepared to send in an armored vehicle, a group of US Marshals arrived and cleared the residence. In another example, a squad in an armored vehicle sped onto a bridge near the location where Card’s car was found, nearly hitting other law enforcement officers working there in the dark.

The report recommends that warnings about self-deployment be part of annual police training and that during emergencies, officers inform the command post of their response or wait to be dispatched.

He also recommends searching a suspect’s home as soon as possible, noting that Card’s home wasn’t searched until more than 14 hours after the shooting.

“Areas of interest, such as the suspect’s vehicle, must be processed for arrest information immediately, not many hours later,” it said.

Ramer reported from Concord, New Hampshire.

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