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Avon, Vail police use Colorado ERPO law to take guns, while sheriff still has doubts
At least two local police departments have utilized Colorado’s extreme risk protection order (ERPO) law – also known as the red-flag law — since it was first passed by the Colorado Legislature in 2019 and went into effect in January of 2020.
Both the Vail and Avon police departments recently confirmed to RealVail.com that, not only have they used the law, which allows law enforcement officials and family members to petition a judge to temporarily remove firearms from an individual deemed a danger to themselves or other, but both have ERPOs in place that are currently active.
“I can confirm that we have utilized the ERPO legislation on three occasions regarding the same individual,” Avon Police Chief Greg Daly wrote in an email to RealVail.com. “Initially, in 2022, [and] a renewal of same ERPO in 2023; he attempted a motion to terminate in April 2024, and then the ERPO was renewed in April 2024.”
Colorado’s ERPO law dictates that it can only be issued by a judge after a hearing within one day of either family members or law enforcement officials filing a petition, with proof of threats and a signed affidavit. If granted by the judge, the initial order is for two weeks, at which point a second hearing determines if a longer forfeiture of weapons is necessary.
In the wake of last month’s social media threats that shut down several local schools and a school shooting in Georgia that some observers and at least one lawmaker felt could have been prevented if that state had a red-flag law, Town of Vail officials confirmed the Vail Police Department has used Colorado’s ERPO law.
“The Vail PD has used the red flag law three times,” Town of Vail spokesperson Kris Widlak wrote in an email. “In one instance, it was fully executed and is currently in place. The other two times the process was initiated, the subjects of the orders voluntarily relinquished their firearms.”
Officials at the Eagle Police Department, which on Sept. 13 arrested a juvenile in connection with a threat to a school within the Town of Eagle, confirmed Eagle PD has never used Colorado’s red-flag law.
“Eagle PD has had no cases that have qualified for an ERPO since 2020,” Eagle Police Chief Carrie Buhlman wrote in email to RealVail.com.
Eagle County Sheriff James van Beek, who recently joined other local law enforcement officials at a community meeting in Eagle to discuss school security, previously confirmed via a spokesperson that his department, which has jurisdiction in unincorporated Eagle County and also contracts with some local towns, has not used the ERPO law since it went into effect.
Eagle County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Ashley LaFleur, in an email last month to RealVail.com, confirmed van Beek still opposes Colorado’s red-flag law – a controversial position he staked out after the law’s passage in the legislature in 2019.
“In regards to the Red Flag Law, the Sheriff still doesn’t care for the way it is currently written,” LaFleur wrote. “In his opinion, lawmakers missed a critical part which was proposed to be included in earlier versions where mental healthcare was available and incorporated as part of the law. If mental healthcare was addressed and provided, he would likely change his opinion.”
Eileen McCarron, president of Colorado Ceasefire Legislative Action, counters that the law does take behavioral health issues into consideration.
“Actually, the law requires that an ERPO respondent is provided information as to resources for dealing with behavioral health issues,” McCarron wrote in an email. “But I must emphasize that the ERPO law (red flag) is not intended solely for people who are ‘mentally ill.’”
“There are situations where an ERPO might be required because a person is undergoing a temporary life crisis – such as marital breakup, death in the family, loss of job – and in not being able to deal with it is posing a threat to others or him or herself,” McCarron added. “Also, ERPOs might be a solution for families when someone is having substance-abuse issues and firearms are an issue to family members.”
Former Vail Police Chief Dwight Henninger backed Colorado’s red flag law primarily for suicide prevention but also as a possible tool in cases like a fatal 2009 shooting at a West Vail bar. Eagle County and other mountain communities have been trying to deal with higher-than-average suicide rates in recent years.
McCarron empathizes with parents and students in Eagle County schools who remain on edge due to the nation’s rampant youth gun-violence epidemic. She urges anyone who hears anything about school threats, which she acknowledges happen frequently because “people tend to talk about their misdeeds,” to anonymously report that information to Colorado’s Safe2Tell program.
In its first four years on the books — 2020 through 2023 — 535 ERPOs had been filed around Colorado, making it what McCarron calls a critical “life-saving tool.” Twenty-one states currently have some form of ERPO law, and studies showred-flag laws save lives.
“Even if the Eagle County sheriff does not approve of the ERPO law, if the court orders an ERPO, he must implement the firearm relinquishment,” McCarron wrote. “[Eagle County] residents should know that even if their sheriff will not file an ERPO, a family member, medical provider, educator, and the district attorney can do so directly with the court. If the court orders relinquishment of a firearm, the sheriff, obviously, must obtain the firearms from the respondent, even if he or she disagrees with the law.”
Finally, McCarron emphasized safe storage of weapons, especially in households with young people.
“It is incumbent on each and every gun owner to safely store weaponry in a manner that makes firearms and ammunition completely inaccessible to both children and youth,” McCarron emailed. “It is not just a responsible thing to do; it is the law. Currently, this applies only in the home, but in January gun owners will also be required to securely store any firearms in vehicles.”
Anyone under the age of 21 cannot legally purchase a handgun in Colorado, whereas Coloradans must be at least 18 to buy long guns (rifles and shotguns). Adults in Colorado must adhere to Colorado’s safe-storage laws.
“When a school-aged child is threatening others with a firearm, he or she has been directly enabled by an irresponsible or criminal adult,” McCarron concluded. In Georgia last month, the father of an alleged school shooter was charged with murder along with his son.
Finally, there is no prohibition in Colorado on a minor being the subject of the state’s red-flag law.
David O. Williams
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