GOSHEN – Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler said that on Tuesday, August 20, his office will present a training program about Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPO) for school administrators, police officers and prosecutors, about a newly created mechanism to take guns away from people who are likely to hurt themselves or others.
Under the newly enacted Article 63-A of New York’s Civil Practice Law and Rules, the New York Supreme Court can issue an Extreme Risk Protection Order against a person who possesses or has access to certain types of guns.
Police officers, school administrators, district attorneys, or family or household members of the person are permitted to file a petition in Supreme Court, seeking an ERPO. After a hearing, if the court determines that the person is likely to engage in conduct that would result in serious harm to the person or to others, the court may issue an ERPO.
The order would require that firearms, rifles, or shotguns that the person possesses, or has access to, be surrendered to police, and would permit police to seize guns of those types from the person. There are time limits on the length of an ERPO, and the order may be renewed under certain circumstances.
“I fully support an individual’s constitutional right to bear arms,” said Hoovler. “Through this training, we hope to provide our police, school administrators, and prosecutors with the information they will need to understand this recent change in the law.”
