{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-43a-43a-3-428","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 43A, § 43A-3-428","heading":"Intoxicated person in public place - Assistance -","body":"Protective custody - Detention.\n\nA. An intoxicated person in a public place who appears to be in\n\nneed of help, if the person consents to the offered help, may be\n\nassisted to:\n\n1. His or her home;\n\n2. An alternative facility pursuant to the provisions of this\n\nsection; or\n\n3. An approved treatment or evaluation facility by a peace\n\nofficer or an emergency service patrol.\n\nB. 1. A person who appears to be intoxicated, and as a result\n\nof such intoxication is unconscious in a public place or reasonably\n\nappears to be in danger of harming himself or herself or others, may\n\nbe taken into protective custody by a peace officer or an emergency\n\nservice patrol and immediately brought to an approved treatment\n\nfacility for medical or nonmedical detoxification.\n\n2. The peace officer or the emergency service patrol, in\n\ndetaining the person and taking the person to an approved treatment\n\nfacility, is taking the person into protective custody and shall\n\nmake every reasonable effort to protect the person’s health and\n\nsafety.\n\n3. In taking the person into protective custody, the detaining\n\nofficer may take reasonable steps for self-protection. No record\n\nshall be made which indicates that the person has been arrested or\n\ncharged with a crime.\n\nC. 1. If the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse\n\nServices, or the governing body of any municipality, has approved a\n\nprogram alternative to statutory or municipal requirements of\n\nprosecution and imprisonment of such person, until the capacity to\n\naccommodate intoxicated persons has been exceeded in the facility\n\nwherein such alternative program is located, the arresting officer\n\nand other public officials involved in an arrest pursuant to this\n\nsection shall utilize such alternative treatment program upon the\n\nvoluntary approval of the intoxicated person and the receiving\n\nfacility rather than proceed under the statutory or municipal laws\n\npertaining to prosecution and imprisonment of intoxicated persons.\n\n2. A facility in which the program is located may make\n\napplication to the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse\n\nServices for approval, but no such program or facility wherein such\n\nprogram is located shall claim or advertise to be a certified\n\ntreatment facility unless duly certified as such by the Department\n\nof Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.\n\n3. All facilities acquiring the approval of an alternative\n\nprogram shall establish their own capacity for the number of persons\n\nto be accommodated in the program.\n\n4. It shall be the duty of the State Department of Health to\n\ninvestigate all complaints concerning general sanitation made in the\n\nform of a sworn affidavit against such municipally approved\n\nalternative facilities.\n\n5. In the event the complaints are found to be true, the State\n\nCommissioner of Health shall have the power to order improvements or\n\nclosure.\n\nD. A person who is brought to an alternative facility or an\n\napproved treatment facility may be admitted as a consumer by the\n\nadministrator in charge of the facility or referred to another\n\ntreatment facility.\n\nE. 1. A person may not be detained at the approved treatment\n\nfacility when the person either is no longer unconscious, or no\n\nlonger appears likely to be of harm to self or others.\n\n2. If the person remains unconscious or likely to harm himself\n\nor herself or others, the person may be detained for no more than\n\ntwelve (12) hours, excluding weekends and legal holidays, after\n\nadmission unless a petition for an order directing the commitment of\n\nthe person to an approved treatment facility has been filed\n\naccording to the Mental Health Law provisions and procedures for\n\ncommitment. The person may consent to remain in the facility as\n\nlong as the administrator or physician in charge believes\n\nappropriate.\n\nF. If a person is admitted to an approved treatment facility\nter\n\nadmission unless a petition for an order directing the commitment of\n\nthe person to an approved treatment facility has been filed\n\naccording to the Mental Health Law provisions and procedures for\n\ncommitment. The person may consent to remain in the facility as\n\nlong as the administrator or physician in charge believes\n\nappropriate.\n\nF. If a person is admitted to an approved treatment facility\n\nunder this section, the person may notify relatives of the admission\n\nor another person may, with the consent of the admittee, notify\n\nrelatives of the admission.\n\nG. 1. A person in possession of a controlled dangerous\n\nsubstance, as defined in Section 2-101 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma\n\nStatutes, or in possession of drug paraphernalia, as defined in\n\nSection 2-405 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes, who appears to\n\nbe in need of help, and if the person consents to the offered help,\n\nin lieu of arrest, may be taken to:\n\na. an approved drug treatment center,\n\nb. an approved center for substance abuse evaluation, or\n\nc. some other facility, as defined in paragraph 1 of\n\nsubsection C of this section, by a law enforcement\n\nofficer.\n\n2. Any creation of a program as provided in this subsection\n\nshall be subject to the authority of the appropriate county,\n\nmunicipal or tribal governing body and any of its subsidiaries. The\n\nDepartment of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services has the\n\nauthority to approve or disapprove individual treatment centers as\n\ndescribed in this subsection.\n\n3. The creation of any program as provided in this subsection\n\nmust be created with the advice and consent of the county’s district\n\nattorney and must be approved annually by the county’s district\n\nattorney.","path":["OK Code","Title 43A"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os43A.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"55b0010a066eb703aad9799e7fbff9845f81fd3d005b5d371672628d6728c196","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-43a-43a-3-427","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-43a-43a-3-429"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}