59-2953. Investigation; emergency detention; authority and duty of law enforcement officers.
59-2953
59-2953. Investigation; emergency detention;authority and duty of law enforcement officers.(a) Any law enforcement officer who has areasonable belief formed upon investigation that a person is amentally ill person and because of such person's mental illnessis likely to cause harm to self or others if allowed to remain atliberty may take the person into custody without a warrant. Theofficer shall transport the person to a treatment facility wherethe person shall be examined by a physician or psychologist onduty at the treatment facility, except that no person shall betransported to a state psychiatric hospital for examination,unless a written statement from a qualified mental healthprofessional authorizing such an evaluation at a statepsychiatric hospital has been obtained. If no physician orpsychologist is on duty at the time the person is transported tothe treatment facility, the person shall be examined within areasonable time not to exceed 17 hours. If a written statementis made by the physician or psychologist at the treatmentfacility that after preliminary examination the physician orpsychologist believes the person likely to be a mentally illperson subject to involuntary commitment for care and treatmentand because of the person's mental illness is likely to causeharm to self or others if allowed to remain at liberty, and ifthe treatment facility is willing to admit the person, the lawenforcement officer shall present to the treatment facility theapplication provided for in subsection (b) of K.S.A. 59-2954 andamendments thereto. If the physician or psychologist on duty atthe treatment facility does not believe the person likely to be amentally ill person subject to involuntary commitment for careand treatment the law enforcement officer shall return the personto the place where the person was taken into custody and releasethe person at that place or at another place in the samecommunity as requested by the person or if the law enforcementofficer believes that it is not in the best interests of theperson or the person's family or the general public for theperson to be returned to the place the person was taken intocustody, then the person shall be released at another place thelaw enforcement officer believes to be appropriate under thecircumstances. The person may request to be releasedimmediately after the examination, in which case the lawenforcement officer shall immediately release the person, unlessthe law enforcement officer believes it is in the best interestsof the person or the person's family or the general public thatthe person be taken elsewhere for release.
(b) If the physician or psychologist on duty at thetreatment facility states that, in the physician's orpsychologist's opinion, the person is likely to be a mentally illperson subject to involuntary commitment for care and treatmentbut the treatment facility is unwilling to admit the person, thetreatment facility shall nevertheless provide a suitableplace at which theperson may be detained by the law enforcement officer. If a lawenforcement officer detains a person pursuant to this subsection,the law enforcement officer shall file the petition provided forin subsection (a) of K.S.A. 59-2957 and amendments thereto, bythe close of business of the first day that the district court isopen for the transaction of business or shall release the person.No person shall be detained by a law enforcement officer pursuantto this subsection in a nonmedical facility used for thedetention of persons charged with or convicted of a crime.
History: L. 1996, ch. 167, § 9;L. 1998, ch. 134, § 40; July 1.