### E EY GENERAL XAS

Honorable Henry Wade DistrictAttorney Dallas County Dallas, Texas OpinionNo. C-329
Re: Sheriff's responsibility in mental health cases. Dear Mr. Wade:

You have requested our opinion on the following questions:1. Underwhat circumstances is it required that a police officer or Sheriff make a written application stating the circumStancesunder which an insane personwss taken into custody and, further, stating that it'is the officer'sbelief that the person is mentally ill and likely to cause injury to himself or others? 2.
. . .Theprocedure the sheriff's office should follow inhandling insane persons as regards to their transportationand admission into privatemental institutions? Article 5547-68,Vernon's CiviL Statutes, provides for the admission and detention of patients under the Mental Health Code in categories as follows:

1. Voluntary Hospitalization 2. EmergencyAdmission 3. TemporaryHospitalization 4. IndefiniteConunitrnent Article 5547-22 through 5547-26,Vernon's Civil Statutes,which 

### governvoluntary hospitalization,Article 5547-31 through 5547-39,Vernon's Civil Statutes,which govern temporaryhospitalization, andArticle 5547-40 through 5547-57,Vernon's Civil Statutes,which govern indefinite comnitnents, place no requirements or statutory duties upon -1570-.-

Honorable Henry Wade, page 2 (C-329)

peace officers to institute a proceeding for the commitment of mentally ill persons.

Articles 5547-27 through 5547-30,Vernon's Civil Statutes, governs emergency admission of mentally ill persons. Article 5547-27 sets forth the duties and authority of health and peace officerswhere an emergency exists. Said Article reads as follows:

"Anyhealth or peace officer, who has reason to believe and doesbel&eve upon **the** representation of a credible person, inwriting, or upon thebasis of the conduct of a person or the circumstances under **which** he is found that the person is mentally ill and because ofhis mental.illness is likely to cause injury to himself or others if not iraneaiately restrained,may upon obtaining a warrant from any magistrate, take such person into cust0ay, and immediately transporthim to the nearesthospital and make application for. his admission,pursuant to thewarrant of the magistrate. Such person admitted upon suchwarrant may be detained in custody for a period not to exceed twenty-four (24)hours, unless a furtherwritten order is obtained from the County Court or ProbateCourt of such county, ordering furtherdetention. Provided,, however, that should the personbe taken into custody on a Saturday or Sunday, or a legalholiday, then **the** twenty-four hour period allowed for obtaining the court order permitting furtherdetention shallbegin at 9:OO o'clock a.m. on the first sueceedinqbusiness day." Article 5547-28,V.C.S.; sets out the requirements for admission of a patient to a mental or general hospital under emergency conditions. ThisArticle reads as follows:

"Thehead of a mental hospital or a general hospital shall not admit nor detain any person for emergency observationand treatmentunless: '*(a)A warrant has been obtained from a magistrate ordering the appxehensionand taking into custody of such person tobe admittea, or an order of protective custodyhas been issued -1571-Honorable HenryWade, page 3,(C-329)

pursuant to Section 66 of this code; "(b) A written application is made by a health or peace officerwho has such person in his custody stating the circumstancesunder which the personwas taken into custody and the officer'sbelief ana the reasons therefor that the person is mentally ill and that because ofhis mental illness is likely to cause injury tohimself or others if not immediatelyrestrained; and. "(c) A written ana certified opinion is made by the medical officer'onduty at the hospital, that after a preliminary examination the personhas symptoms of mental illness and is likely to cause injury to himself or others if not immediatelyrestrained.'
It iswell to note thatArticle 5547-27 and Article 5547-28, supra, apply to'those situations inwhich there is an emergencywhich necessitates the immediate hospitalization of a mentally ill personbecause his present mental condition is such that the person is likely to cause injury to himself or others if not innnediately restrained.
It shouldbe furthernoted that paragraph (b) of Article 5547-28 provides for a written application to be made by the peace officerwho is operatingunder the emergency conditions as set forth inArticle 5547-27, supra.

After careful consideration of the applicable statutes and the briefs submitted to us,we are of the opinion that your conclusion correctly states the law in reference to your first question. We therefore adopt, as the opinion of this office,your conclusionwhich reads:

"It is our opinion that the only instance when a~police officermust make a written application statinghis opinion that the patient is mentally ill and is likely to cause injury to himself or others iswhen an emergency exists and a warrant is issuedby a magistrate ordering the apprehension of the mentally ill person under -1572-Honorable Henry Wade, page 4 (C-329)

the stated provisions, ofArticles 5547-27 and 5547-28, supra. "We are of,the further opinion thatwhen the Probate Court has issued an order dealing with the commitment Of a mentally ill person that the officer so directedby the order is obligated to execute the sane.
"An order of the Probate Court is complete within itself and may not be conditionedby a requirement that the-officermake any written application to a mental institution. Such would be unconstitutional in that itwould place an illegal limitation upon the jurisdiction of the Probate Court. Therefore,when the Probate Court has issued an-order directing an officer to transport a mentally ill person to a mental institution the order is effective at **the** time of its issuance and no written application is necessary to make the order effective." Transportation of Mentally 111 Persons

In order to answerybur second question, the statutesunder Chapter III, Part 4 of the Mental Health Code must be reviewed. This-reviewreveals the follcming:

When a personhas been adjudgedmentally ill by the Court, said Court issues an order of TemporaryHospitalization or IndefiniteCommitment, and in said order commits the mentally ill person to a designated State Mental Hospital, a privatemental hospital,'or to an agency of the United States operating a mental hospital (Art. 5547-58).

The Court may authorize a relative or other responsible person to transport the patient to the designated mental hospital, or should **the** head of the designatedhospital advise the Court that hospital personnel are available for the purpose, the Court may authorize the head of the hospital to transport the patient to said hospital; otherwise, the Court may authorize **the** sheriff to transport the patient to said hospital. (Art. 5547-61)

-1573-Honorable HenryWade,,page 5 (C-329)

When the Sheriff is to transport a patient, the clerk of the committing Court shall issue a writ of commitment in duplicate to him, commandinghim to take charge of the patient and transporthim to the designatedmental hospital. (Art. 5547-62)

The Sheriff shall not transport the patient in a marked police or sheriff's car or allow the patient to be accompaniedby officers in uniform if other means are available. (Art. 5547-64)

Every female patient shallbe accompaniedby a female attendant unless accompaniedby her father,husband or adult brother or son during conveyance to the mental hospital. (Art. 5547-64)

When the patient is delivered to the mental hospital, the Sheriff shall furnish one of the duplicatewrits of cormnitment

to the head of the mental hospital and the hospital, in turn, shall give the Sheriff transporting the patient a written statement acknowledging acceptance of the patient and of any personal propertybelonging to him, and the head of thehospital shall also file a copy of such statementwith the clerk of the Committing Court. (Art. 5547- 65) When an application for TemporaryHospitalization or IndefiniteCommitment is pending and a Certificate of Medical Examination is filed stating that the patient is mentally ill and is likely to cause injury to himself or others, the Judge may order a health or peace officer to take the proposed patient into custody and transporthim to a designatedhospital. (Art. 5547-66)

The only time a peace officermust make a written application stating the circumstances under which the personwas taken into custody and statinghis opinion that the person is mentally ill and is likely to cause injury to

-1574-Honorable Henry Wade, page 6 (C-229)

himself or others iswhen an emergency exists, and a warrant of arrest is issuedby a magistrate ordering the apprehension of the mentally ill person as providedby Articles 5547-27and 5547-28.Vernon's Civil Statutes. The procedure for peace officers in transportingmentally ill persons to designated hospitals is coveredby statutes under Chapter XII, Part 4 of the Mental Health Code, and the pertinent statutes are discussed in the body of this opinion.
Yours very truly,
WAGGONER CARR Attorney General

Assistant

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APPROVED: OPINIONCOMMITTEE
W. V. Geppert, Chairman Malcolm Quick Wary K. Wall Brandon Bickett

APPROVED FOR THE ATTOREEY GEEERAL By: Roger Tyler

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