Policy Text
Policy
391Mountain View Police Department
Mountain View PD Policy Manual
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2019/12/16, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by Mountain View Police
DepartmentGun Violence Restraining Orders - 1Gun Violence Restraining Orders
391.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE
The purpose of this policy is to provide guidelines for petitioning and serving gun violence
restraining orders (GVROs) and accounting for the firearms and ammunition obtained pursuant
to those orders.
391.1.1 DEFINITIONS
Definitions related to this policy include:
Gun Violence Restraining Order - Civil restraining order prohibiting a named person from
controlling, owning, purchasing, possessing, receiving, or otherwise having custody of any
firearms or ammunition, including an ammunition magazine (Penal Code § 18100).
391.2 POLICY
It is the policy of the Mountain View Police Department to petition and serve GVROs in compliance
with state law and to properly account for firearms and ammunition obtained by the Department
pursuant to such orders.
391.3 GUN VIOLENCE RESTRAINING ORDERS
An officer who reasonably believes a person is a danger to him/herself or another person by
controlling, owning, purchasing, possessing, receiving, or otherwise having custody of a firearm
or ammunition may request permission from his/her supervisor to petition the court for a GVRO.
There are three types of GVROs: 1) a temporary emergency order (similar to an EPRO) when the
person presents an immediate and present danger (Penal Code § 18125); 2) a temporary ex parte
order when the person presents a significant danger in the near future (Penal Code § 18150); and
3) an order after notice/hearing which is issued after a hearing to determine whether or not the
person should be restrained from owning or possessing firearms and ammunition for a one year
period (Penal Code § 18175).
391.4 TEMPORARY EMERGENCY GUN VIOLENCE RESTRAINING ORDERS
An officer may seek a temporary emergency gun violence restraining order when he or she has
reasonable cause to believe that a person poses an immediate and present danger of causing
personal injury to himself, herself, or another by having in his or her custody or control, owning,
purchasing, possessing, or receiving a firearm or ammunition. The temporary emergency GVRO
must be necessary to prevent personal injury to the subject of the petition or another because less
restrictive alternatives either have been tried and found to be ineffective, or have been determined
to be inadequate or inappropriate for cicrumstances of the subject of the petition. An officer may
orally request an order and then prepare and sign a declaration under penalty of perjury that
recites the oral statements provided to the judicial officer. The officer must memorialize the order
of the court on the appropriate Judicial Council form (Form EPO-022) (Penal Code § 18140). This
Mountain View Police Department
Mountain View PD Policy Manual
Gun Violence Restraining Orders
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2019/12/16, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by Mountain View Police
DepartmentGun Violence Restraining Orders - 2order is effective for 21 days until a hearing may be held. An officer may contact the on-call search
warrant deputy district attorney for assistance.
391.5 TEMPORARY EX PARTE GUN VIOLENCE RESTRAINING ORDERS
An officer may file a petition requesting that the court issue a temporary ex parte GVRO. The
temporary ex parte GVRO is issued if the court finds there is substantial likelihood that the person
poses a significant danger, in the near future, of causing personal injury to himself, herself, or
another by having in his or her custody or control, owning, purchasing, possessing, or receiving
a firearm or ammunition. The temporary ex parte GVRO must be necessary to prevent personal
injury to the subject of the petition or another because less restrictive alternatives either have been
tried and found to be ineffective, or are inadequate or inappropriate for the circumstances.
Officers petitioning the court should use the forms established by the Judicial Council (Penal
Code § 18105). The petition should describe the number, types, and locations of any firearms
and ammunition that the officer believes to be possessed or controlled by the person (Penal
Code § 18107). The petition should also describe why less-restrictive alternatives are ineffective
or inadequate for the circumstances (Penal Code § 18150). An officer should contact the City
Attorney's Office for assistance in preparing the ex parte GVRO.
391.6 SERVICE OF GUN VIOLENCE RESTRAINING ORDERS
An officer serving any GVRO shall:
(a)Provide the subject of the order with the GVRO documents.
(b)Verbally ask the subject of the order if he/she has any firearm, ammunition, or
magazine in his/her possession or under his/her custody or control (Penal Code §
18160).
(c)Request that any firearms or ammunition be immediately surrendered and issue a
receipt for the surrendered items (Penal Code § 18120).
(d)Take into temporary custody any firearm or ammunition discovered in plain view or
pursuant to consent or other lawful search (Penal Code § 18250).
(e)Inform the restrained person of any scheduled hearing regarding the order (Penal
Code § 18160).
(f)Transmit the original proof of service form to Records to send to the issuing court as
soon as practicable but within one business day (Penal Code § 18115).
(g)As soon as practicable, but by the