10:38 PM PDT on Wednesday, May 26, 2004

By SUSANNAH FRAME / KING 5 News

KING

There are many laws protecting the right to bear arms, as well as laws aimed at keeping guns out of the hands of criminals and those with extreme mental illness.

But one such law hasn't been followed in King County for many years, and that lapse has many in law enforcement worried.

Of the 39 counties in Washington state, only one, King County, was unaware of a law designed to keep guns out of the hands of people with extreme mental illness.

The county did start complying with the law earlier this month, but for the last 10 years, it's been overlooked.

Guns and the mentally ill

Seattle Police showed KING 5 Investigators a number of guns taken from extremely mentally ill people.

One woman who owned a small arsenal was suicidal, threatening to shoot up her apartment building. A man who was delusional and paranoid said he needed his rifles to protect himself against people implanting thoughts in his brain.

KING 5 asked: "You've got to feel good that they're here, don't you have a modicum of comfort knowing the guns are here?"

"I do," said Sgt. Lisbeth Eddy, coordinator the Seattle Police Department's Crisis Intervention Team. "I feel good about that. And in these particular cases there hasn't been a big push to release them, thank goodness."

Seattle Police crisis intervention team officers - those specially trained to handle calls involving the mentally ill - consider these success stories getting guns away from mentally ill people before there's a tragedy.

But it doesn't always work out that way.

Seattle Police killed David Walker in 1998 after he shot at Safeway employees. Before moving here, Walker had a lengthy history of mental illness in California.

Sheriff's Deputy Wally Davis was shot and killed with a rifle by a man with a well-documented history of mental instability in Clallum County.

KING 5 asked: "Knowing what you know now about his mental status, should that man have had firearms?"

"No, no!" explained Clallum County Sheriff Joe Martin.

King County missed the law

The KING 5 Investigators uncovered a lapse in King County, where a law designed to keep guns away from the most seriously mentally ill wasn't followed for as many as 10 years.

The law is clear. When a judge orders a person to a mental hospital for 90 days of treatment, that county's court clerk must notify the state Department of Licensing, which then notifies police, who must revoke the person's gun license and take away any firearms.

Over the last 10 years more than 2,000 names should have been submitted to the state but weren't.

Crisis Intervention Officer Suzanne Parton has been suspicous for months. She deals with more cases involving the mentally ill than anyone at the Seattle Police Department.

She's been wondering why the database didn't seem right.

While KING 5 Investigators where there, she found a man with an active gun license when she knew it should have been revoked.

KING 5 asked: "Can you think of any reason why this man should have firearms?"

"Absolutely not. I actually know this man, and absolutely, he should not have firearms," Parton said.

KING 5 asked: "Dangerous?"

"Yes, sick," she responded.

Seattle Police Officer Ben Morrison is trained in crisis intervention calls. He trusts his life with the accuracy of the state Department of Licensing database in his patrol car.

"That's information I want to know," Morrison said. "It's frustrating that someone has dropped the ball and in so doing has put me at greater risk."

It's frustrating too for former lawmaker and current Washington Court of Appeals Judge Marlin Appelwick, who sponsored the bill in 1994. He said not following the law erodes confidence in government.

"I don't have a clue why it wouldn't have happened," Appelwick said. "To that extent it's unfortunate because the public sense of safety gets violated."

The buck stops at the King County Superior Court Clerk's Office where administrators somehow missed the passing of this law.

"It's actually pretty dumbfounding to me that it hasn't come up.... and disappointing. Absolutely!" said Barbara Miner, Superior Court Clerk for King County.

To be fair, the King County Superior Court Clerk's office is a busy place. More than 150 state laws pertain to the department and they receive more than 7,000 documents a day. That's paper stacked 6 feet high, five days a week./

But those in charge say that workload is no excuse.

KING 5 asked: "What happened?"

"I wish I could tell you," Miner said. "It was before my time. That's an unfortunate piece of it. All I know is that when we did become aware of it, we took immediate steps to make sure that it happened."

"It concerns me, it's frightening to think that our database doesn't have what we need to respond appropriately," Officer Parton said, "and in the long run, to keep everybody safe."

King County did start submitting names to the database earlier this month. At this point, they aren't geared up to go back and correct the inaccurate information that accumulated over the last 10 years.