Oregon’s extreme risk protection order law, also known as the “red flag” gun law, is one of the least-used protective orders in the state, according to a 2023 state report.
But it may have been a key safeguard in the case of the man suspected of driving a car packed with explosives into the Multnomah Athletic Club early Saturday — and a reason no one other than the suspect died in his alleged attack.
The suspect, 48-year-old Bruce Whitman, was the subject of two “red flag” orders, in 2022 and in February this year, after he was fired from his job as a bartender at the MAC and became fixated on the private club, terrorizing members and threatening violence.
A Portland police officer with the bureau’s behavioral health unit filed the requests for both extreme risk protection orders, which allow police and household members to petition a judge to temporarily remove firearms from individuals threatening violence or suicide.
Whitman was forced to surrender two guns in February, court records show.
How was the ‘red flag’ gun law a factor in the MAC attack?
In June 2022, Portland police Officer Michael Hansen told the court Whitman had been fired from the MAC and that he “has consistently had the belief people associated with the MAC have been conspiring against him and are involved in a campaign of harassment and wanting to cause physical harm.”
The court granted the order, records show.
Earlier this year, in February, Hansen was listed as a petitioner on another red flag order after Whitman shot himself in the head, court records show.
Two days after the suicide attempt, according to court records, Whitman surrendered two guns, a 9mm Taurus Millennium G2 and a .38 revolver.
The ‘red flag’ law didn’t stop all violence
Despite police intervention, Whitman’s violent delusions continued.
Investigators believe that the former employee rented a black Nissan Rogue on Friday, which he used to drive into the building, careening around the first floor before setting off the explosive devices, believed to be a mix of propane tanks and pipe bombs, according to a law enforcement source.
Some of the devices detonated and some did not, Sgt. Jim DeFrain, who heads the Metro Explosive Disposal Unit for the police bureau, said at a Saturday afternoon press conference.
The ground floor of the building was “completely destroyed” and suffered “millions of dollars in damages,” said one of the law enforcement sources, who requested anonymity because the investigation is still ongoing.
What else do we know about Oregon’s ‘red flag’ law?
A majority of the people who face an extreme risk petition are white men between the ages of 18 and 45, according to one study of 105 cases, the state’s 2023 report said. However, data collection is not required under the law.
At least 20 other states have similar red flag protections. Oregon has one of the highest burdens of proof, and outside of law enforcement the state allows only family and people living with the person to file requests, the report said. In other states, such as California, employers, coworkers and certain school personnel can petition for a protective order.
Between 2018 and 2021, Oregonians submitted over 64,000 requests for protective orders, including against stalkers, perpetrators of domestic violence, people who abuse elderly relatives and more.
Less than 1% of those were “red flag” requests. Requests for family abuse prevention orders — which protect people and their children from imminent danger of domestic abuse — were the most common, accounting for over half of all protective orders.
An analysis by The Oregonian/OregonLive in 2018 found that the law was used in a variety of cases and in some instances likely prevented deaths from gun violence, including several suicides.
— Oregonian journalists Shane Dixon Kavanaugh and Julia Silverman contributed.
