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Oregon Revised Statutes

Or. Rev. Stat. § 426.228 (2026)

Custody; authority of peace officers and other individuals; transporting to facility; reports; examination of person

✓ current as of May 2026
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      426.228 Custody; authority of peace officers and other individuals; transporting to facility; reports; examination of person. (1) A peace officer may take into custody a person who the officer has probable cause to believe is a danger to self or others and is in need of immediate care, custody or treatment for mental illness. As directed by the community mental health program director, a peace officer shall remove a person taken into custody under this section to the nearest hospital or nonhospital facility approved by the Oregon Health Authority. The officer shall prepare a written report and deliver it to the licensed independent practitioner who is treating the person. The report shall state:

      (a) The reason for custody;

      (b) The date, time and place the person was taken into custody; and

      (c) The name of the community mental health program director and a telephone number where the director may be reached at all times.

      (2) A peace officer shall take a person into custody when the community mental health program director, pursuant to ORS 426.233, notifies the peace officer that the director has probable cause to believe that the person is an imminent danger to self or others. As directed by the community mental health program director, the peace officer shall remove the person to a hospital or nonhospital facility approved by the authority. The community mental health program director shall prepare a written report that the peace officer shall deliver to the licensed independent practitioner who is treating the person. The report shall state:

      (a) The reason for custody;

      (b) The date, time and place the person was taken into custody; and

      (c) The name of the community mental health program director and a telephone number where the director may be reached at all times.

      (3) If more than one hour will be required to transport the person to the hospital or nonhospital facility from the location where the person was taken into custody, the peace officer shall obtain, if possible, a certificate from a licensed independent practitioner stating that the travel will not be detrimental to the person’s physical health and that the person is a danger to self or others and is in need of immediate care or treatment for mental illness. The licensed independent practitioner shall have personally examined the person within 24 hours prior to signing the certificate.

      (4) When a peace officer or other authorized individual, acting under this section, delivers a person to a hospital or nonhospital facility, a licensed independent practitioner shall examine the person immediately. If the licensed independent practitioner finds the person to be in need of emergency care or treatment for mental illness, the licensed independent practitioner shall proceed under ORS 426.232, otherwise the person may not be retained in custody. If the person is to be released from custody, the peace officer or the community mental health program director shall return the person to the place where the person was taken into custody unless the person declines that service.

      (5) A peace officer may transfer a person in custody under this section to the custody of an individual authorized by the community mental health program director under ORS 426.233 (3). The peace officer may meet the authorized individual at any location that is in accordance with ORS 426.140 to effect the transfer. When transferring a person in custody to an authorized individual, the peace officer shall deliver the report required under subsections (1) and (2) of this section to the authorized individual.

      (6) An individual authorized under ORS 426.233 (3) shall take a person into custody when directed to do so by a peace officer or by a community mental health program director under ORS 426.233.

      (7) An individual authorized under ORS 426.233 (3) shall perform the duties of the peace officer or the community mental health program director required by this section and ORS 426.233 if the peace officer or the director has not already done so.

      (8) An individual authorized under ORS 426.233 (3) may transfer a person in custody under this section to the custody of another individual authorized under ORS 426.233 (3) or a peace officer. The individual transferring custody may meet another authorized individual or a peace officer at any location that is in accordance with ORS 426.140 to effect the transfer.

      (9)(a) When a peace officer takes a person into custody under this section, and the peace officer reasonably suspects that the person is a foreign national, the peace officer shall inform the person of the person’s right to communicate with an official from the consulate of the person’s country.

      (b) A peace officer is not civilly or criminally liable for failure to provide the information required by this subsection. Failure to provide the information required by this subsection does not in itself constitute grounds for the exclusion of evidence that would otherwise be admissible in a proceeding. [1993 c.484 §2; 1997 c.531 §2; 2003 c.109 §2; 2009 c.595 §402; 2013 c.360 §38; 2015 c.461 §11; 2015 c.785 §2; 2025 c.559 §27]

 

      Note: 426.228 to 426.237 were added to and made a part of 426.005 to 426.390 by legislative action but were not added to any other series. See Preface to Oregon Revised Statutes for further explanation.

 

      426.230 [Amended by 1955 c.651 §7; repealed by 1957 c.388 §17]

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 6 cases (5 in the last 5 years), 2003–2026 · leading case: Mesch v. Unity Ctr. for Behavioral Health.
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Mesch v. Unity Ctr. for Behavioral Health (Or. Ct. App. 2026). · cites it 15× “235 if the licensed independent practitioner, hospital Cite as 349 Or App 463 (2026) 473 or judge acts in good faith, on probable cause and without malice.” The relevant statutes that defendants could have been acting “pursuant to” in this case are ORS 426.”
Maltais v. PeaceHealth, 532 P.3d 510 (Or. Ct. App. 2023). “335(5) (“A licensed independent practitioner, hospital or judge may not be held criminally or civilly liable for actions pursuant to ORS 426.228, 426.231, 426.232, 426.234 or 426.”
Sulliger v. Lane Cnty., 79 P.3d 888 (Or. Ct. App. 2003). · cites it 4× “' The said direction and authorization required empowered Plaintiff to: (1) arrest and take into custody, absent warrant or consent, any person whom Plaintiff had probable cause to believe was dangerous to self or any other person, pursuant to ORS 426.228(1); (2) to arrest and…”
Hart (D. Or. 2026). · cites it 8× “ORS § 426.228 is a similar statute that states a “peace officer may take into custody a person who the officer has probable cause to believe is dangerous to self or to any other person and is in need of immediate care[.”
Diamond v. City of Sandy (D. Or. 2025). · cites it 5× “233, community mental health director or designee, hospital or other facility, licensed independent practitioner or judge may not in any way be held criminally or civilly liable for actions pursuant to ORS 426.228 to 426.235 if the individual or facility acts in good faith, on…”
Maltais v. PeaceHealth (Or. Ct. App. 2023). “335(5) (“A licensed independent practitioner, hospital or judge may not be held criminally or civilly liable for actions pursuant to ORS 426.228, 426.231, 426.232, 426.234 or 426.”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 426.228(1) — 2 cases
Sulliger v. Lane Cnty., 79 P.3d 888 (Or. Ct. App. 2003). “' The said direction and authorization required empowered Plaintiff to: (1) arrest and take into custody, absent warrant or consent, any person whom Plaintiff had probable cause to believe was dangerous to self or any other person, pursuant to ORS 426.228(1); (2) to arrest and…”
Diamond v. City of Sandy (D. Or. 2025). “233, community mental health director or designee, hospital or other facility, licensed independent practitioner or judge may not in any way be held criminally or civilly liable for actions pursuant to ORS 426.228 to 426.235 if the individual or facility acts in good faith, on…”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 426.228(2) — 1 case
Sulliger v. Lane Cnty., 79 P.3d 888 (Or. Ct. App. 2003). “' The said direction and authorization required empowered Plaintiff to: (1) arrest and take into custody, absent warrant or consent, any person whom Plaintiff had probable cause to believe was dangerous to self or any other person, pursuant to ORS 426.228(1); (2) to arrest and…”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 426.228(4) — 1 case
Mesch v. Unity Ctr. for Behavioral Health (Or. Ct. App. 2026). “235 if the licensed independent practitioner, hospital Cite as 349 Or App 463 (2026) 473 or judge acts in good faith, on probable cause and without malice.” The relevant statutes that defendants could have been acting “pursuant to” in this case are ORS 426.”
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