8 Red Flag petitions filed in El Paso County, each one has been denied by courts

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- A total of eight Red Flag petitions have been filed in El Paso County since the controversial bill was passed in Colorado nine months ago, but every single one has been denied.

The bill allows families to file an Extreme Risk Protection Order to have law enforcement remove the firearms of a relative who is deemed to be at extreme risk of harming themselves or others. Before that can happen, the petition must be approved by a judge.

Chief Judge Will Bain with the 4th Judicial District has denied three of the eight petitions filed in El Paso County. He says the reason why these are being denied is that the legislature created very strict standards judges have to consider when looking over the petitions.

“They set the bar very high for the granting of these orders," Judge Bain said. “They are really for the most extreme situations hence, the word extreme in the legislation itself. So out of the eight, there has not been an allegation that has met the legal standard set by the legislation."

KRDO obtained those eight petitions to see exactly why they were denied.

Out of the eight, two were denied for being filed in the wrong county. Another was denied after the petitioner said she meant to file for something other than an ERPO. Two others were denied because they didn't mention a gun or firearm anywhere in the petition, which Judge Bain says is a key component that separates these orders from Emergency Protection Orders.

“The difference here is it has to involve a firearm and it has to involve either a family member or a household member," Bain says.

Now two other petitions did mention firearms and the person felt threatened by who owned them, but they were still denied. Bain said that there has to be more than a general concern.

"If what people are saying is simply I think this person is dangerous and they have a gun, that doesn’t meet the level required by the legislature,” he said.

The remaining petition was also denied, but there was no explanation given by the judge.