Judge rules Hennepin County sheriff overstepped in petitioning to revoke Iraq vet's gun permit

Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek overstepped his authority in attempting to have revoked the gun permit of an Iraq war veteran who police believe represented a possible danger to himself or others, a judge ruled Friday.

The case could have broad implications about how veterans in crisis are treated by law enforcement and about how much authority a sheriff may have in seeking the revocation of permits to carry weapons.

At one point, Bloomington police became so concerned about the man, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq from 2004 to 2005, that they took him to Fairview Southdale Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. They also confiscated his weapons, which included several handguns and a shotgun.

A doctor released the man after determining he wasn't a threat, diagnosing him only with a contusion, wrist pain, "situational stress" and "impulsive behavior." But Bloomington police refused to return his weapons, and the sheriff's department moved to have his permit revoked.

The case involves Bloomington resident Steven Eid, who was honorably discharged and suffers from chronic pain and other medical ailments from his service as a Marine helicopter mechanic.

According to court papers, Eid has undergone multiple surgeries at the Veterans Affairs hospital and other VA-approved facilities and has had difficulty obtaining follow-up care and rehabilitative services.

Eid contacted the offices of U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen in March and April this year to complain about how he was being treated at the VA. Concerned about what they regarded as the increasingly threatening tone of his complaints, staffers from both offices contacted U.S. Capitol Police.

At one point, Eid left voice-mail messages with several staffers and Bloomington police telling them he was increasingly threatened by the Capitol Police detective investigating the case and that he was carrying his gun out of fear of him.

As a result, Stanek's office filed a petition for the revocation of Eid's gun permit on the grounds that the sheriff believed Eid was dangerous.

Eid went to court to fight the revocation.

In an order released Friday, Hennepin County Judge Susan Robiner said Stanek should not have sought to revoke Eid's gun permit. While refusing to fault law enforcement, she nonetheless said Stanek failed to meet the high standard for revocation under state law, which is "a substantial likelihood that the applicant is a danger to self or the public."

"This record identifies absolutely no one who has been directly threatened by Eid and no evidence that he has had any current suicidal ideation, much less threats of suicide," Robiner ruled.

Eid's attorney, John Baker, said the case is an example of how society, including law enforcement, often views Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans as broken and dangerous. Eid has never been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and has no criminal history.

"It's overreaching by the sheriff, the same old scheduling problem by the VA, and the perception that all us veterans have PTSD and we're all dangerous," said Baker, himself a veteran who teaches classes to law enforcement on veterans in crisis.

Baker said he was told that Eid went to the Bloomington Police Department Friday after the order was issued to retrieve his confiscated weapons but that police refused to give them back.

"They're saying, 'Here's a Marine veteran, he's got to have PTSD, we're not going to give this guy his weapons back, he's going to shoot everyone up,' " Baker said. "Again, it's based on perception."