(1) A peace officer may take into custody a person who the officer has probable cause to believe is dangerous to self or to any other person and is in need of immediate care, custody or treatment for mental illness. As directed by the community mental health and developmental disabilities program director, a peace officer shall remove a person taken into custody under this section to the nearest hospital or nonhospital facility approved by the Department of Human Services. The officer shall prepare a written report and deliver it to the treating physician. The report shall state:
(a) The reason for custody;
(b) The date, time and place the person was taken into custody; and
(c) The name of the community mental health and developmental disabilities program director and a telephone number where the director may be reached at all times.
(2) A peace officer shall take a person into custody when the community mental health and developmental disabilities program director, pursuant to ORS 426.233, notifies the peace officer that the director has probable cause to believe that the person is imminently dangerous to self or to any other person. As directed by the community mental health and developmental disabilities program director, the peace officer shall remove the person to a hospital or nonhospital facility approved by the department. The community mental health and developmental disabilities program director shall prepare a written report that the peace officer shall deliver to the treating physician. The report shall state:
(a) The reason for custody;
(b) The date, time and place the person was taken into custody; and
(c) The name of the community mental health and developmental disabilities program director and a telephone number where the director may be reached at all times.
(3) If more than one hour will be required to transport the person to the hospital or nonhospital facility from the location where the person was taken into custody, the peace officer shall obtain, if possible, a certificate from a physician licensed by the Oregon Medical Board stating that the travel will not be detrimental to the person’s physical health and that the person is dangerous to self or to any other person and is in need of immediate care or treatment for mental illness. The physician shall have personally examined the allegedly mentally ill person within 24 hours prior to signing the certificate.
(4) When a peace officer or other authorized person, acting under this section, delivers a person to a hospital or nonhospital facility, a physician licensed by the Oregon Medical Board shall examine the person immediately. If the physician finds the person to be in need of emergency care or treatment for mental illness, the physician shall proceed under ORS 426.232, otherwise the person shall not be retained in custody. If the person is to be released from custody, the peace officer or the community mental health and developmental disabilities program director shall return the person to the place where the person was taken into custody unless the person declines that service.
(5) A peace officer may transfer a person in custody under this section to the custody of a person authorized by the county governing body under ORS 426.233 (3). The peace officer may meet the authorized person at any location that is in accordance with ORS 426.140 to effect the transfer. When transferring a person in custody to an authorized person, the peace officer shall deliver the report required under subsections (1) and (2) of this section to the authorized person.
(6) A person authorized under ORS 426.233 (3) shall take a person into custody when directed to do so by a peace officer or by a community mental health and developmental disabilities program director under ORS 426.233.
(7) A person authorized under ORS 426.233 (3) shall perform the duties of the peace officer or the community mental health and developmental disabilities program director required by this section and ORS 426.233 if the peace officer or the director has not already done so.
(8) A person authorized under ORS 426.233 (3) may transfer a person in custody under this section to the custody of another person authorized under ORS 426.233 (3) or a peace officer. The authorized person transferring custody may meet another authorized person or a peace officer at any location that is in accordance with ORS 426.140 to effect the transfer.
(9)(a) When a peace officer takes a person into custody under this section, and the peace officer reasonably suspects that the person is a foreign national, the peace officer shall inform the person of the person’s right to communicate with an official from the consulate of the person’s country.
(b) A peace officer is not civilly or criminally liable for failure to provide the information required by this subsection. Failure to provide the information required by this subsection does not in itself constitute grounds for the exclusion of evidence that would otherwise be admissible in a proceeding. [1993 c.484 §2; 1997 c.531 §2; 2003 c.109 §2]
Note: 426.228 to 426.238 were added to and made a part of 426.005 to 426.390 by legislative action but were not added to any other series therein. See Preface to Oregon Revised Statutes for further explanation.
Section: Previous 426.217 426.220 426.222 426.223 426.224 426.225 426.226 426.228 426.230 426.231 426.232 426.233 426.234 426.235 426.236 NextLast modified: August 7, 2008