Law enforcement officials spoke Thursday about the difficulties in implementing the state’s yellow flag law that allows guns to be confiscated from someone in a mental health crisis, describing the complicated and time-consuming process in testimony to an independent commission investigating mass shootings in in which a reservist killed 18 people.
Deputies said they had been trained on the steps to remove firearms under the law and that they were limited in what they could do when they received warnings about the reservist’s deteriorating mental health.
Sagadahoc County Sheriff Joel Merry points out the difficulty of balancing public safety against individual rights.
“There is always an opportunity after a tragedy to wonder if more could have been done. But that analysis must always take into account the limitations imposed on law enforcement by the law at the time of the incident,” said Merry.
Democratic Maine Governor Janet Mills and Attorney General Aaron Frey convened the commission to review the events leading up to the Oct. 25 shootings at a bowling alley and a restaurant in Lewiston.
Leroy Walker, whose son Joe Walker was killed in Chengees Bar, said the victim’s family had been following the proceedings and hoped it would produce changes that could prevent future tragedies.
“Everything they do I think will help us in some way, and we will find out information,” Walker said.
Deputies said they had been trained on the steps to remove firearms under the law and that they were limited in what they could do when they received warnings about the reservist’s deteriorating mental health. AP
“Many of us are sitting around waiting to see what the commission will do with the findings and move forward.”
The panel’s second public meeting Thursday focused on Sagahadoc County deputies’ response to warnings about the deteriorating mental health of the gunman, 40-year-old Bowdoin resident Robert Card.
Card’s son and ex-wife voiced concerns he was becoming paranoid and erratic in May, and an aide warned in September that Card “would arrest and do mass shootings.”
In between, Card was hospitalized for two weeks for erratic behavior while a Maine-based Army Reserve unit was training in upstate New York and Card was angry with some fellow reservists over his treatment.
Deputy Chad Carleton, who handled the first report from the family, and Sgt. Aaron Skolfield, who was involved in September, both spoke about problems with Maine’s yellow flag law.
Sagadahoc County Sheriff Joel Merry points out the difficulty of balancing public safety against individual rights. AP
Carleton described the process as “cumbersome” and said the three requirements for protective custody, medical review and judicial review were time-consuming.
Skolfield, who visited Card’s home for a welfare check, also had concerns about the yellow flag law.
But he said he did not go to Card’s home with the intention of using the law’s provisions — although he admitted he was aware of the danger Card could pose.
In the end, he didn’t meet with Card, the first requirement to use the yellow flag law — something critics, including lawyers for the victims, widely see as a missed opportunity to prevent the shooting.
“I couldn’t get him to the door. I couldn’t tell him to open the door. I couldn’t kick the door. If I kicked the door, that would be a violation of the law,” Skolfield told the commissioner.
Maine Governor Janet Mills and Attorney General Aaron Frey convened the commission to review the events leading up to the Oct. 25 shootings at a bowling alley and a restaurant in Lewiston. AP
Card died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after the shooting.
The mass shooting he carried out was the deadliest in Maine history and has prompted new discussions about gun rights and gun control in a state that has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the Northeast.
Mills and Frey said Wednesday that they have introduced legislation to give the commission subpoena powers while it investigates, powers that commissioners say they need.
The legislation “will ensure the commission has the tools it needs to fully and effectively carry out its critical mission to determine the facts of the tragedy in Lewiston,” they said in a statement.
On Thursday, the sheriff opened the session by pledging to be transparent and take a critical look at his department’s response and what improvements can be made to prevent future tragedies.
Leroy Walker, whose son Joe Walker was killed in the Chengees Bar, said the victim’s family had been following the proceedings and hoped it would produce changes that could prevent future tragedies. AP
He also defended his officers, saying they are limited in what they can do during welfare checks and rely on family members and Army Reserve officers to respond to mental health concerns without escalating the situation.
After an attempted welfare check in September, Skolfield said he received assurances from the family that it would remove his access to firearms and that the Army suggested he let the situation be “sad.”
He said, he felt comfortable enough with the situation to go on vacation without assigning any deputy minister to follow up on the matter.
The commission’s meeting Thursday was chaired by Daniel Wathen, former chief justice of the Maine Supreme Court.
Other members include Debra Baeder, former chief forensic psychologist for the state, and Paula Silsby, former US attorney for the District of Maine.
Associated Press writer David Sharp in Portland, Maine, contributed to this report.
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