LINCOLN COUNTY, Maine – The Lewiston mass shooting continues to raise new questions about a state law designed to keep firearms away from potentially dangerous people that was not invoked in the case of Robert Card, despite multiple warning signs in the weeks and months leading up to the shooting.
Many have questioned how the law is supposed to work.
NEWS CENTER Maine spoke Wednesday with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, whose deputies have used the state’s yellow flag law more than almost any other agency in Maine.
In total, the law has been used to remove someone’s firearms 82 times since its implementation in 2020, according to data provided by the Maine Department of Public Safety.
“It’s a relatively new law,” said Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Lt. Brendan Kane. “It’s not a law that’s used every day.”
But his agency uses it more than most, using the yellow flag law to obtain a gun restriction order six times. Only the Sanford Police Department (seven times) and the State Police (eight times) have used it more, according to state data.
Kane says each case is considered independently at the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, but his deputies pay particular attention to two factors when dealing with someone in mental distress.
“We have to make an assessment of: Does this person have access to firearms? Have they threatened to use the firearms? Have they threatened anyone or are they just in terrible pain?” he said.
Once deputies determine that someone needs to be removed from their guns, they must follow a multi-part process involving law enforcement, mental health professionals and a judge.
“It’s a pretty high threshold,” said Lincoln County Sheriff Todd Brackett.
He says the law has been an imperfect but effective tool for his agency.
“We’ve had pretty good success with it, I think, for the most part here in Lincoln County,” Brackett said.
He noted that mental health cases are always a challenge for law enforcement officers, who are not primarily trained as mental health professionals.
Brackett added that communication between local, state and federal agencies needs to be improved. According to him, even if someone is taken into protective custody under Maine’s Yellow Flag law, it’s not clear how long that information stays with the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), which is used to screen gun purchasers.
“The very day after they’re released from Maine’s Yellow Flag law, I’m not sure if there’s any information left or if any information is entered into NICS,” Brackett said. “In today’s world, I’m wondering why we can’t do a better job of real-time data transfer of these things that could at least be red flags.”
Asked if his agency would seek to invoke the Yellow Flag Law for a person who has been treated for mental health issues, has access to firearms and has made a threat to commit a shooting, Sheriff Brackett said, “Absolutely, if it’s an option for us given the circumstances and we’re able to verify that information.”
Brackett stressed that he was speaking only about his office’s procedures, not those of other agencies.
Public records confirm the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office never made contact with the Lewiston shooter in the weeks leading up to his attack, despite knowing he had access to firearms, had mental health issues and had threatened to shoot up a military base.
State records show the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office never used the yellow flag law to obtain a gun restriction order.
In a statement to NEWS CENTER Maine on Wednesday, Sagadahoc County Sheriff Joel Merry said his office has only attempted to use the Yellow Flag law once in recent memory, “but the individual voluntarily surrendered his rifle to deputies” before the process was initiated.