From Tuesday's opinion by Judge Aida Delgado-Colón (D.P.R.) in Ramos-Cruz v. P.R., granting summary judgment to plaintiff on her Second Amendment claim:
The Court draws the following factual findings from the parties' admissions on the record and those statements of proposed facts submitted by plaintiff that comply with L. Civ. R. 56….
On November 19, 2022, after an argument with her husband, plaintiff left her residence in Ceiba and went to Luquillo where she called the police to make a report against him for domestic violence. At the Luquillo Police Station, PRPB [Puerto Rico Police Bureau] agents seized plaintiff's firearms license [a seizure that apparently made it illegal for her to acquire new guns -EV]. The agents then travelled to plaintiff's house, where her father-in-law was present, and proceeded to enter the home, where they seized her weapons and ammunition. This was done without her permission and without a court order, pursuant to Article 2.13 of [Puerto Rico Weapons Act]. The next day, on November 20, 2022, an ex parte temporary restraining order was entered in plaintiff's favor and against her husband….
Article 2.13… reads, in relevant part, as follows:
Any law enforcement officer shall temporarily seize the license, firearms, and/or ammunition of a citizen if he has grounds to believe that the firearms license holder has used or shall use said firearms and ammunition unlawfully to harm other persons; for uttering threats to commit a crime; for stating the intention to commit suicide; for repeatedly demonstrating negligence or carelessness in handling the firearm; when it is believed that the firearms license holder has a mental illness, is considered to be a habitual drunkard, or is addicted to controlled substances; or in any other situation of grave risk or danger that warrants the seizure.
The record before the Court shows that none of the enumerated exceptions applied to plaintiff's situation when she sought assistance from the PRPB. Rather, the PRPB effectuated the seizure pursuant to the last, broadly worded clause: "in any other situation of grave risk or danger that warrants the seizure." …
