Before Hurricane Helene made landfall, several municipalities in Florida declared local states of emergency to ensure they would be available for state and federal funds needed for expected storm-related cleanup and repair. As earlier reported on TTAG and other gun websites and news outlets, the city of Okeechobee went so far in theirs as to ban the sale of guns and ammunition and prohibited public firearm possession by anyone other than law enforcement or military members.
The move brought an instant reaction from citizens across the country who saw this as an illegal restriction of constitutional rights. The response amounted to today’s social media version of a tar and feathering and much of the anger was directed toward the man who signed the order, Okeechobee Police Chief Donald Hagan.
Police officials are now claiming to 12 News in Florida that the signing of the order was all just a big mistake. Late yesterday, the Okeechobee Police Department admitted to enacting the wrong declaration last week, which mistakenly included a gun ban.
The order, signed by Hagan on Thursday, September 26, cited Florida Statute 870.044, which prohibits the sale of guns and ammunition and restricts public firearm possession by anyone other than law enforcement or military personnel. The Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) quickly called out the city on social media, bringing national attention to the issue.
However, just as quickly as it was enacted, the police department terminated the emergency order, admitting that it had been a mistake.
“This is something that was mistakenly enacted. Once we learned that the emergency order was not the one we intended to declare, we immediately terminated it,” Detective Jarret Romanello, the department’s Public Information Officer, told 12 News on Monday.
But how is that even possible? In the order shared with TTAG readers just earlier today, what is banned by the order is clearly written and signed by the chief. It is a simple one-page declaration, not a section in a larger bound document that might have been overlooked.
Romanello told 12 News that Police Chief Hagan was not present during the fallout because he had received so many personal attacks from angry citizens across the country.
“Most of the noise is coming from people that live outside the city of Okeechobee,” Romanello added, which is not uncommon when such a situation gains national attention.
It’s worth wondering though, how a police chief—or any city official for that matter—could “accidentally” outlaw guns—even temporarily—in a state where the right to bear arms is so deeply ingrained.
Local gun stores, like Wild Side Pawn and Gun, reported to 12 News that they didn’t suffer any direct impact from the order.
“At no time did any Okeechobee City Police Department officers take any enforcement action pursuant to the declaration. No guns were seized. No businesses were approached or told to take down their firearms,” Romanello also clarified.
He assured citizens that the Okeechobee Police Department “very much supports our Second Amendment” and values the rights of its citizens.
The city released a statement explaining the situation from their perspective as well, and is said to now be conducting a review to determine how such a significant mistake occurred in the first place. Romanello suggested that the declaration may have been intended to fall under Chapter 870 of the Florida Statutes, which restricts firearms during riots or public disorder—not natural disasters like Hurricane Helene. But it’s important that government officials in any capacity understand the laws they are attempting to enforce and this case may be a clear example of that.
City officials plan to provide more answers once the review is complete, but for now, it remains a head-scratcher how a sweeping gun ban made it into an emergency order with no one catching the error before groups like FPC or the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) jumped all over it and turned it into national news.
Firearms Policy Coalition, a non-profit gun rights organization headquartered in California, recently posted the notice on X, criticizing the police department for adopting the order, which banned the sale of guns and ammunition and prohibited public firearm possession by anyone other than law enforcement or military members.
The order, which initially cited Florida Statute 870.044, went to effect Thursday, September 26 for a few hours. It was signed by Police Chief Donald Hagan ahead of Hurricane Helene’s arrival. The city issued a statement and spoke with CBS12 News about the error.
“This is something that was mistakenly enacted. Once we learned that the emergency order was not the order that we intended to declare, we immediately terminated it,” Det. Jarret Romanello, Public Information Officer for the Okeechobee City Police Department, told CBS12 News on Monday.
Calls and emails started pouring in, despite the termination of the order.
“He’s not here today because he was subject to personal attacks all day from all over this country,” Romanello said, referring to Chief Hagan. “Most of the noise is coming from people that live outside the city of Okeechobee.”
City gun stores, including Wild Side Pawn and Gun in Okeechobee, told CBS12 News they were not impacted by the order.
“At no time did any Okeechobee City Police Department officers take any enforcement action pursuant to the declaration. No guns were seized. No businesses were approached or told to take down their firearms. We very much support our Second Amendment,” Romanello said. “The Okeechobee City Police Department values the civil liberties of all our citizens, and we value the rights of our citizens, including the right to bear arms.
City officials are currently reviewing the incident to understand how the mistake occurred.
“City officials are currently reviewing that matter, and we look forward to providing more answers as soon as that review is complete,” Romanello added.
Romanello suggested that the intended declaration might have been related to a state of emergency under Chapter 870 of the Florida Statutes, which bans carrying or selling guns during riots or public disorder, not natural disasters.