Wash. Rev. Code » Title 13 · Chapter 13.34
Revised Code of Washington

Wash. Rev. Code § 13.34.055 (2026)

✓ current as of May 2026
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(1) A law enforcement officer shall take into custody a child taken in violation of RCW 9A.40.060 or 9A.40.070. The law enforcement officer shall make every reasonable effort to avoid placing additional trauma on the child by obtaining such custody at times and in a manner least disruptive to the child. The law enforcement officer shall return the child to the person or agency having the right to physical custody unless the officer has reasonable grounds to believe the child should be taken into custody under RCW 13.34.050 or 26.44.050. If there is no person or agency having the right to physical custody available to take custody of the child, the officer may place the child in shelter care as provided in RCW 13.34.060.
(2) A law enforcement officer or public employee acting reasonably and in good faith shall not be held liable in any civil action for returning the child to a person having the apparent right to physical custody.
[ 1984 c 95 s 4.]

Notes:

Severability—1984 c 95: See note following RCW 9A.40.060.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 2 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 2014–2025 · leading case: In re the Welfare of S.I., 337 P.3d 1114 (Wash. Ct. App. 2014).
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In re the Welfare of S.I., 337 P.3d 1114 (Wash. Ct. App. 2014). “RCW 13.34.055. A statute declaring rights of parents applies to both a dependency proceeding and a termination proceeding.”
Atkerson v. Dep't of Child., Youth, & Fams. (Wash. 2025). “RCW 13.34.055; RCW 26.44.050. Once a child has been removed from their family home, the State has 72 hours, excluding weekends and holidays, to bring the matter before a court for a shelter care hearing.”
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.