May 10, 2025

Implementing extreme risk protection orders

PERF members,

Extreme risk protection orders (ERPO), sometimes called “red flag” laws, are in place in 21 states and the District of Columbia. ERPO laws vary from state to state, but they are generally used to prohibit individuals who pose a threat to themselves or others from possessing a firearm following a court petition for a civil order filed by law enforcement, family members, or some others.

Law enforcement plays a crucial role in implementing ERPOs, as they are often both petitioning for the order and securing the individuals’ firearms after the orders are granted. Police chiefs and sheriffs in states with ERPO laws have told me these measures help them prevent people from hurting themselves or others. The majority of firearm deaths are suicides, and ERPOs can help avoid these tragedies. To learn more about the role of law enforcement in implementing ERPOs, PERF hosted a workshop in September 2023 with 22 participants from 10 ERPO states.

The PERF workshop on ERPOs held September 20, 2023

To share promising practices identified at the workshop and hear from agencies with extensive experience implementing ERPOs, PERF hosted a webinar this Wednesday with three expert practitioners: Firearms Safety Counsel Elizabeth Leahy from the Illinois State Police; Chief of Investigative Services W. Craig Macy from the Buffalo (NY) Police Department; and Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Samaroo from the Broward County (FL) Sheriff’s Office. The discussion, led by PERF Research Director Meagan Cahill and Research Consultant Eva Fontaine, covered three primary topics identified during the workshop: creating streamlined processes, training, and challenges and successes.

All participants emphasized the importance of streamlining the process for applying for and carrying out an ERPO. The process can be labor-intensive, as law enforcement agencies must file the appropriate legal petition, then assign enough resources to collect the firearms in a safe manner. The most efficient and effective process may look different in each agency depending on the agency’s size, its resources, and the specifics of the state’s ERPO law. “I work across the state in implementation efforts, so I’ve seen all different models of this,” Elizabeth Leahy said. “I’ve certainly seen examples of more streamlined work based on one officer all the way through or specialized units. I do think in general, [in] larger departments that have the resources to develop specialized units . . . they work better.”

Chief W. Craig Macy agreed, saying the Buffalo Police Department had found a specialized unit was most effective. “The city of Buffalo has a streamlined process by using a specialized unit within our department,” Chief Macy said. “Within the Detective Division, which [has] approximately 140 detectives and supervisors, we have our Threat Management Unit, which has four detectives and a sergeant, and they are responsible for ERPOs.”

The Broward Sheriff’s Office, on the other hand, empowers every deputy to handle ERPOs. “Policy allows every deputy to serve an ERPO,” Lieutenant Colonel Samaroo said. “The reason is that we’re so spread out, and there are different tiers. For instance, a common domestic will probably be [handled by] a deputy, but [for] something more, such as a large group [or a] political affiliation [or] religious group threat, we’ve got the Threat Management Unit.”

Smaller agencies may be able to work with larger agencies whose staff have more specialized knowledge when petitioning for ERPOs and seizing firearms. Many small departments do not have the resources that large departments have and are unable to commit the resources to effectively implementing ERPOs. For example, they may not have legal guidance to help them draw up a petition. In large agencies, legal advice is often provided by in-house general counsel. In smaller agencies, legal advice for officers on how to file and navigate the legal process can come from local prosecutors, a state or district attorney’s office, or local lawyers who donate their expertise to police departments filing ERPOs.

Officers in smaller agencies may also lack the training or the resources to safely remove firearms from a person in crisis. As more and more states have passed ERPO laws, state and federal resources to help agencies implement ERPOs have been developed. For example, Johns Hopkins’ National ERPO Resource Center provides training and technical assistance to agencies nationwide; the University of Michigan’s Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention provides general and Michigan-specific resources; and a speaker at our webinar, Ms. Leahy, provides similar resources to agencies of all sizes in Illinois through her position with the Illinois State Police.  

All three panelists said it’s important to train officers on ERPOs using multiple methods. This training might include written bulletins, roll call briefings, in-person instruction, and scenario-based exercises. Specialized units that are responsible for ERPOs should receive more extensive training. “When we stood the Threat Management Unit up, we had a two-week block of instruction for them that covered ERPOs much more in depth,” Chief Macy said. “We brought them right over to the courthouse [and] introduced them to the members at the court [who] would be facilitating these.”

The panelists then discussed some of the challenges and successes they’ve experienced while implementing ERPO laws. One challenge is raising awareness of ERPO laws among officers and other potential petitioners. “I’m several years into this now, and I still come across even my own officers in my own agency who [don’t] know that this exists,” Elizabeth Leahy said. “That’s always surprising to me, because I’m so immersed in the work. But it’s a reminder [that] people aren’t always aware that this tool exists.”

It’s also important for the public to know that the tool is available. Leahy shared a success story where family members of a person who had threatened suicide personally thanked a sheriff’s deputy for removing that person’s firearms. In fact, the ERPO respondent herself thanked the sheriff for arriving when he did and saving her life.

Lieutenant Colonel Samaroo shared a success story: “A friend called me from a different jurisdiction in Broward County and said, ‘Hey, my father-in-law has an arsenal and I believe he’s in the early onset of dementia and he’s threatening my mother-in-law. I think if the cops come here it’s going to be a shootout.’ I said, ‘My advice is you [call] the local law enforcement department you have there, give them the story you gave me, and then they’ll file for an ERPO.’ They filed, the judge found that they met the criteria. [They] seized the firearms. They got intervention to help the father-in-law. . . . We stopped a potential shooting right there.”

All three panelists agreed on the most important piece of advice for agencies beginning to use ERPOs: put policy first. As a starting point, Chief Macy suggested looking at other agencies’ ERPO policies, especially agencies in your state. Peer agencies in the same state will be operating under the same ERPO laws as your agency. The state of Illinois formed an implementation committee that created a model policy for agencies around the state to learn from and use. Existing policies can always be adapted to your agency’s unique contexts. Because if you don’t develop your policy first, as Lt. Colonel Samaroo said, “you’re flying blind.”

Thanks to our three expert panelists for sharing their insights, to Meagan and Eva for organizing and hosting the webinar, and to Arnold Ventures for supporting this work. I encourage you to watch the full webinar. As Lieutenant Colonel Samaroo’s story shows, when effectively implemented, ERPOs can save lives.

Best,

Chuck