Oklahoma Code § 43A-5-207

Title 43A. Mental Health: Local Law Enforcement Mental Health Manpower Act
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A.  Any person who appears to be or states that such person is
mentally ill, alcohol-dependent, or drug-dependent to a degree that
immediate emergency action is necessary may be taken into protective
custody and detained as provided pursuant to the provisions of this
section.  Nothing in this section shall be construed as being in
lieu of prosecution under state or local statutes or ordinances
relating to public intoxication offenses.
B.  1.  Any peace officer who reasonably believes that a person
is a person requiring treatment as defined in Section 1-103 of this
title shall take the person into protective custody.  The officer
shall make every reasonable effort to take the person into custody
in the least conspicuous manner.
2.  Upon taking the person into protective custody, the officer
may relinquish custody of the person believed to require treatment
to a duly qualified reserve officer or deputy employed by the same
agency to fulfill the officer’s duties as required by this title.
C.  The officer shall prepare a written statement indicating the
basis for the officer’s belief that the person is a person requiring
treatment and the circumstances under which the officer took the
person into protective custody.  The officer shall give a copy of
the statement to the person or the person’s attorney upon the
request of either.  If the officer does not make the determination
to take an individual into protective custody on the basis of the
officer’s personal observation, the officer shall not be required to
prepare a written statement.  However, the person stating to be

mentally ill, alcohol-dependent or drug-dependent or the person upon
whose statement the officer relies shall sign a written statement
indicating the basis for such person’s belief that the person is a
person requiring treatment.  Any false statement given to the
officer by the person upon whose statement the officer relies shall
be a misdemeanor and subject to the sanctions of Title 21 of the
Oklahoma Statutes.
D.  If the person is medically stable, the officer shall
immediately transport the person to an urgent recovery clinic or to
the nearest facility, as defined in Section 1-103 of this title, for
an initial assessment within a thirty-mile radius of the peace
officer’s operational headquarters, or may request an assessment at
the point of initial contact by the Department of Mental Health and
Substance Abuse Services as provided by subsection A of Section 1-
110 of this title.  If, subsequent to an initial assessment, it is
determined that emergency detention is warranted, the person shall
immediately be transported to the nearest facility that is
appropriate for treatment of the individual and has bed space
available if the individual has been determined to be a person
requiring treatment.  Transport shall be provided in accordance with
subsection B of Section 1-110 of this title.
E.  For the purposes of this section, “urgent recovery clinics”
means clinics that offer voluntary services aimed at the assessment
and immediate stabilization of acute symptoms of mental illness,
alcohol and other drug abuse and emotional distress; provided that,
unless the person consents to a longer duration, no more than
twenty-three (23) hours and fifty-nine (59) minutes of services are
provided to a consumer during one episode of care.
F.  If it is determined by the facility director or designee
that the person is not medically stable, the Department shall
immediately transport the person to the nearest hospital or other
appropriate medical facility for medical treatment.  A treating
physician may authorize that the person be detained until the person
becomes medically stable.  The time limit on the emergency detention
period stipulated under Section 5-208 of this title shall be tolled
until the person who appears to be a person requiring treatment is
medically stabilized.  When the person becomes medically stable, if
in the opinion of the treating or discharging physician, the patient
is still a person requiring treatment as defined in Section 1-103 of
this title, the physician shall authorize detention of the patient
for transportation as provided in subsection D of this section.
G.  The parent, brother or sister who is eighteen (18) years of
age or older, child who is eighteen (18) years of age or older, or
guardian of the person, or a person who appears to be or states that
such person is mentally ill, alcohol-dependent or drug-dependent to
a degree that emergency action is necessary may request the
administrator of a facility designated by the Commissioner as an

appropriate facility for an initial assessment to conduct an initial
assessment to determine whether the condition of the person is such
that emergency detention is warranted and, if emergency detention is
warranted, to detain the person as provided in Sections 5-206
through 5-209 of this title.
Added by Laws 1988, c. 260, § 5, eff. Nov. 1, 1988.  Amended by Laws
1990, c. 211, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1990; Laws 1995, c. 90, § 1, eff.
Nov. 1, 1995; Laws 2002, c. 488, § 33, eff. Nov. 1, 2002; Laws 2003,
c. 46, § 35, emerg. eff. April 8, 2003; Laws 2004, c. 113, § 17,
eff. Nov. 1, 2004; Laws 2005, c. 195, § 26, eff. Nov. 1, 2005; Laws
2006, c. 97, § 16, eff. Nov. 1, 2006; Laws 2009, c. 316, § 1, eff.
Nov. 1, 2009; Laws 2010, c. 2, § 17, emerg. eff. March 3, 2010; Laws
2012, c. 296, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 2012; Laws 2021, c. 39, § 2, eff.
Nov. 1, 2021; Laws 2022, c. 297, § 3, eff. Nov. 1, 2022; Laws 2023,
1st Ex. Sess., c. 28, § 3, eff. Nov. 1, 2023.
NOTE:  Laws 2009, c. 252, § 1 repealed by Laws 2010, c. 2, § 18,
emerg. eff. March 3, 2010.  Laws 2021, c. 38, § 2 repealed by Laws
2022, c. 228, § 11, emerg. eff. May 5, 2022.

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