N.M. Stat. » N.M. Stat. / Chapter 43 / Article 2
New Mexico Statutes

N.M. Stat. § 43-2-19 (2026)

Peace officer or public service officer; no liability.

✓ current as of May 2026
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A. A peace officer or public service officer may, if the officer reasonably believes it
necessary for the officer's own safety, make a protective search of an intoxicated
person before transporting the person to a residence, treatment facility or detention
center.

    B. A peace officer or public service officer shall not be held civilly liable for assault,
false imprisonment or other alleged torts or crimes on account of reasonable measures
taken under the authority of the Detoxification Reform Act, if such measures were, in
fact, reasonable and did not involve use of excessive or unnecessary force.

History: 1953 Comp., § 46-14-4, enacted by Laws 1973, ch. 331, § 4; 2005, ch. 198, §
7.

                                      ANNOTATIONS

The 2005 amendment, effective July 1, 2005, created Subsections A and B; changed
"health care facility" to "treatment facility" in Subsection A and deleted the former
provision that a peace officer or public service officer were not criminally liable for
assault, false imprisonment or other alleged torts or crimes on account of reasonable
measures taken under the Detoxification Reform Act.

Search of intoxicated person threatening suicide justified. — Since the defendant
smelled of alcohol, appeared intoxicated, and was threatening suicide, a police officer
could have reasonably concluded his safety justified a patdown search of the defendant
before taking him into protective custody. State v. Blakely, 1993-NMCA-053, 115 N.M.
466, 853 P.2d 168, cert. denied, 115 N.M. 535, 854 P.2d 362.

Inventory searches of persons detained are not prohibited by the Detoxification Act.
State v. Johnson, 1996-NMCA-117, 122 N.M. 713, 930 P.2d 1165, cert. denied, 122
N.M. 578, 929 P.2d 269.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1993–2021 · leading case: State v. Blakely, 853 P.2d 168 (N.M. Ct. App. 1993).
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State v. Blakely, 853 P.2d 168 (N.M. Ct. App. 1993). · cites it 2× “Police officers or public service officers are expressly authorized by statute, NMSA 1978, § 43-2-19 (Repl.Pamp.1989), to make a protective search of an intoxicated person who is taken into protective custody, prior to transporting him to a residence, health care facility, or…”
State v. Johnson, 930 P.2d 1165 (N.M. Ct. App. 1996). “See § 43-2-19 (officers may make protective search of intoxicated person “before transporting” person to residence, health facility, or jail); § 43-2-22(0 & (D) (person taken into protective custody is not arrested and shall not have criminal record).”
State v. Becenti, 2021 NMCA 060 (N.M. Ct. App. 2021). · cites it 2× “make a protective search of an intoxicated person before transporting the person to a residence, treatment facility or detention center[,]” § 43-2-19(A), as further evidence that PSOs are vested with a duty to maintain public order.”
— N.M. Stat. § 43-2-19(A) — 1 case
State v. Becenti, 2021 NMCA 060 (N.M. Ct. App. 2021). “make a protective search of an intoxicated person before transporting the person to a residence, treatment facility or detention center[,]” § 43-2-19(A), as further evidence that PSOs are vested with a duty to maintain public order.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.