Sheriff ‘committed to public safety, due process’ as Colorado expands red-flag firearms law

The Eagle County Sheriff’s Office has softened its stance on Colorado’s Extreme Risk Protection Order, or red-flag law, since it was first passed in 2019.

The law that first went into effect in 2020 allows law enforcement officials and family members to petition a judge to temporarily remove firearms from an individual deemed a danger to themselves or others. It was expanded this week to include educators and healthcare providers.

Republican Eagle County Sheriff James van Beek, after tepidly supporting a version of the law first proposed and later killed in 2018, came out against it in a big way after it was passed in 2019, stating his objections on Second Amendment grounds on social media and on FOX News.

In an email on Tuesday in the wake of Gov. Jared Polis signing an expansion of the law, the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office confirmed it still has not filed a red-flag, or ERPO, petition since 2020.

Statewide, 692 ERPO petitions were filed resulting in the temporary removal of firearms in 478 cases between 2020 and 2024 — the most recent year data are available, according the Colorado Office of Gun Violence Prevention.

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Other law enforcement agencies have used the process locally, including both Avon and Vail police departments.

In 2024, Avon Police confirmed filing an ERPO petition three times in connection with the same person. Avon PD did not respond to a request for comment on the expansion of the law and whether it’s used the petition process again since 2024.

Vail PD had used the red-flag law three times as of 2024, and a spokesperson confirmed they have not used it since. In one case, the ERPO was fully executed, and in the other two cases, the subjects of the orders voluntarily surrendered their firearms.

Vail Police testified in favor of the red-flag law in 2019 under the administration of a previous chief of police — primarily for suicide prevention but also as a tool in the wake of a 2009 West Vail bar shooting — and the current chief also promises to enforce all laws on the books, including the legislature’s expansion of the ERPO law this year.

Colorado’s ERPO law mandates an order can only be issued by a judge after a hearing within one day of either family members or law enforcement officials — and soon certain educators and healthcare professionals — filing a petition, with proof of threats and a signed affidavit.

If a judge grants the order, firearms are confiscated for just two weeks, at which point a second hearing determines if a longer period of confiscation is necessary to protect the individual in crisis or others who may be in danger.

“The Eagle County Sheriff’s Office remains committed to public safety and due process,” sheriff’s spokesperson Karina Toscano wrote in response to an email about the expansion of the law. “To date, our agency has not filed an ERPO; however, the process remains a viable consideration whenever a case warrants its use.”

In fact, despite the current sheriff’s objections to the initial law, it now appears the office is ready to use it in certain circumstances.

“While we have offered it as a protective tool in a previous case, we respected the family’s choice of a different path,” Toscano wrote. “The specific individual involved is receiving care and no longer poses a threat. As ERPO laws expand in 2026, we continue to appreciate rigorous judicial oversight and advocate for the addition of vital mental health services and long-term crisis resolution.”

Van Beek in 2024, through a spokesperson, said he didn’t care for the way the 2019 law was written because 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.”

The gun-safety advocacy group Colorado Ceasefire countered that the law does require that an ERPO respondent is provided information as to resources for dealing with behavioral health issues. But the group added that the law is not aimed solely at people who are mentally ill. 

People who are undergoing a temporary life crisis — a relationship breakup, a death in the family or the loss of a job — might also be the subject of an ERPO petition if they are proven to be a danger to themselves or others, the group stated.

Editor’s note: If you or someone you know is in crisis, please contact your physician, go to your local emergency room, call the Vail Health Behavioral Health 24/7 crisis line at 970-306-4673, or call 988 to reach the Colorado Mental Health Line.