50 Pa. Stat. § 4405

Current through P.A. Acts 2023-32
Section 4405 - Commitment for emergency detention
(a) Whenever a person appears, by reason of his acts or threatened acts, to be so mentally disabled as to be dangerous to himself or others and in need of immediate care, he may be taken into custody for the purpose of examination, provided that:
(1) Only a relative, guardian, friend, individual standing in loco parentis to the person believed to be mentally disabled, executive officer or authorized agent of a governmental or recognized nonprofit agency providing health or welfare services, or a police officer may take such person into custody and then only upon written application approved by the administrator or his delegate, and
(2) The acts or threats which give cause to believe the person to be mentally disabled and in need of immediate care are overt, demonstrate a clear and present danger to self or others and are set forth in the application.
(b) Immediately upon being taken into custody, such person shall be taken with the approved application for examination to a physician or designated facility for examination on an emergency basis:
(i) When examination is made by a physician who determines that such person is in need of immediate emergency care in a facility, he shall so certify on the aforementioned application and upon request, local police or State police shall forthwith transport such person to such designated facility where application shall be presented, the certificate filed with the facility, and the person thereby committed for emergency care. (ii) When the examination is made at a designated facility and it is determined by an examining physician that the person is in need of immediate emergency care, the examining physician shall file the require certificate and the commitment of such person for emergency care thereby shall be effected.
(c) When the application is not made by a relative or the guardian, the director, upon reception of the person named in the application, shall notify the appropriate relative or the guardian of the commitment of such person.
(d) If the examining physician shall determine that any person taken into custody by a police officer is not in need of immediate emergency care in a facility, and the person in custody has committed a criminal act, the police officer shall take such person to the proper issuing authority to be dealt with according to law. In all other cases such person shall be returned to the place where he was taken into custody and released.
(e) No person who proceeds under the provisions of this section shall be held civilly or criminally liable therefor, unless he acted maliciously and did not have probable cause to believe that the person taken into custody was suffering from mental disability.
(f) Any person committed under this section may be detained for a period of not more than ten days. If during this period the director finds that such person requires further care, he may admit the person on a voluntary commitment or notify the applicant (other than a police officer), or the administrator of the county of the person's residence, to make further application for such person's commitment under other provisions of this act.

50 P.S. § 4405

1966, Special Sess. No. 3, Oct. 20, P.L. 96, art. IV, § 405, effective 1/1/1967.