Sec. 24A.003. AUTHORIZED ENTRY PROCEDURES; DUTIES OF PEACE OFFICER. (a) If the justice of the peace grants an application under Section 24A.002, a peace officer shall accompany and assist the applicant in making the authorized entry and retrieving the items of personal property listed in the application.
(b) If the current occupant of the residence is present at the time of the entry, the peace officer shall provide the occupant with a copy of the court order authorizing the entry and property retrieval.
(c) Before removing the property listed in the application from the residence, the applicant must submit all property retrieved to the peace officer assisting the applicant under this section to be inventoried. The peace officer shall create an inventory listing the items taken from the residence, provide a copy of the inventory to the applicant, provide a copy of the inventory to the current occupant or, if the current occupant is not present, leave the copy in a conspicuous place in the residence, and return the property to be removed from the residence to the applicant. The officer shall file the original inventory with the court that issued the order authorizing the entry and property retrieval.
(d) A peace officer may use reasonable force in providing assistance under this section.
(e) A peace officer who provides assistance under this section in good faith and with reasonable diligence is not:
(1) civilly liable for an act or omission of the officer that arises in connection with providing the assistance; or
(2) civilly or criminally liable for the wrongful appropriation of any personal property by the person the officer is assisting.
Added by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1076 (H.B. 2486), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2015.
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