There was a story from upstate New York that didn’t get my attention when I first read about it. A man was ordered to turn in his guns under New York’s new SAFE Act, allegedly because he had taken anti-anxiety medication and his mental health history made him a danger to himself or others. His guns were returned to him after it was discovered that a mistake had been made and he was not the individual with the mental health history. The case is raising questions as to whom is responsible for investigating before a referral is made to the courts to revoke someone’s permit or have them turn over their guns.
But there’s even more to the story, it seems, and some legislators and the man’s lawyer are raising questions about whether medical records are being scoured without warrants. Capital Tonight reports that the man’s attorney, Jim Tresmond, is filing a lawsuit:
Tresmond claims while investigating the “mistake” he discovered that State police had examined his client’s medical records without a valid search warrant. Tresmond said that’s a clear violation of federal and state privacy laws in addition to the New York State Criminal Procedure Law.
“This is not a simple case of mistaken identity. Mr. Lewis’ medical privacy was invaded and he was publicly defamed and humiliated by New York State officials,” Tresmond said.
Tresmond went a step further, accusing the State of creating a “clandestine HIPAA unit” within the Division for Criminal Justice Services, charged with examining New York residents’ medical records without warrant.
“I believe there are seven officers assigned to this unit, who are assigned to review those HIPAA files. And try to nab those people who are on certain medications, certain treatments, and then pull their licenses across the state,” said Tresmond.
A State Police spokesperson told YNN the accusations are “flat wrong.”
Read more on Capital Tonight.
In related coverage, Dan Roberts discusses the alleged HIPAA unit on AmmoLand, where he repeats a report that the unit was created at the request of Homeland Security. At this point, there’s been no proof or named sources, however, so I’m not sure what we can make of all this.