Seattle ‘legally’ confiscating guns, Army vet Alexander McKenzie agrees with the move after losing his gun
Seattle police department became the first law enforcement agency in the state to force the surrender of a firearm under a new law known as an “extreme risk protection order.”
Alexander McKenzie, a 31-year-old Army veteran who, according to court documents, is being treated for post-traumatic stress disorder, recently had his gun confiscated by the Seattle Police Department even though he had committed no crime.
Facebook photo/student posing with rifle at a gun show
It’s one of 27 guns seized legally by the Seattle Police Department from 16 individuals since last July under Washington State’s new Extreme Risk Protection Order law.
What may shock gun owner activists is that McKenzie agrees with the move.
“I’m grateful that the police got the gun away from me,” McKenzie told Fox News.
“He was roaming the hallways with a .25 caliber semi-automatic,” said Tony Montana, who knows the man from his apartment complex. “And it created a lot of fear obviously because I didn’t know if he was coming after me or gonna just start shooting the place up.”
“There’s certainly a big concern of the connection between mental health and people exhibiting violent behavior and whether or not they should have access to firearms. The ‘erpos’ give us that tool now as an option,” said Sgt. Eric Pisconski, who leads the crisis response unit for the Seattle Police Department.
The confiscation is for one year, but can be renewed.
Only family, roommates and police can petition the court for the civil order. The burden of proof is on the petitioner. A judge determines if the person is a danger to himself or others. If the order is issued, the guns can be seized immediately, but the gun owner gets to make his or her case in court within two weeks.
Law enforcement is convinced the law is saving lives.
“I have no doubt,” said King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg, “it is the kind of tool we can use to prevent greater tragedies.”
So I’m wondering why there was no elaboration on McKenzie’s thankfulness over them taking the gun away. Was he struggling with flashbacks? Was he having a psychotic break? I find it alarming that you’d only publish that one statement from him with no depth or description.
The trick is mass shootings are so rare, we’ll never know if they decline. Crime casualties also will continue on the same path because this law will seem totally ineffectual.