Under Minnesota law, police and peace officers are allowed to place certain individuals into detox holds, even if it is against their will, for up to 72 hours. These detox holds are conducted in order to help keep the person from harming themselves or others, but three days is a long time to be stuck in a facility, so what should you do if you’ve been placed in a detox hold? We explain in today’s blog.
Detox Holds in Minnesota
Detox holds are covered under Minnesota Statute 235B.05, which is known as the Emergency Hold Law. The law states:
“A peace or health officer may take a person into custody and transport the person to a licensed physician or treatment facility if the officer has reason to believe, either through direct observation of the person’s behavior, or upon reliable information of the person’s recent behavior and knowledge of the person’s past behavior or psychiatric treatment, that the person is mentally ill or developmentally disabled and in danger of injuring self or others if not immediately detained. A peace or health officer or a person working under such officer’s supervision, may take a person who is believed to be chemically dependent or is intoxicated in public into custody and transport the person to a treatment facility.”
Detox holds are basically a way of controlling individuals who are unable to safely care for themselves, even if they haven’t committed a crime just yet (although they may also have committed a crime). For example, if a bachelor party gets out of hand, and one partygoer drinks to the point where their safety and the safety of others is in jeopardy, a police officer can put them in a detox hold that can last for 72 hours. Same goes for if they find a person stumbling around downtown Minneapolis and believe he is on some sort of drug due to his inability to answer questions from the officer.
Police are legally allowed to take people who meet this criteria to a hospital or another appropriate detoxification facility for up to 72 hours. It might seem like a funny story to cap off a wild bachelor party, but just because you wake up with a hangover on Sunday doesn’t mean you’re going to be released right away. Police can legally hold you for 72 hours, and the fact that your have school or a work shift coming up isn’t a priority to them. So what should you do if you wake up in a detox facility?
Getting Released From Detox
Many detox facilities don’t let people leave until they are completely sober, and even then there are some hoops to jump through. Some factors that police officers use to determine if a person is eligible to be released from a detox hold include:
- Blood alcohol content
- Pending criminal charges
- Behavior during and after detainment
- Whether they are a risk to themselves or others
- Other mental health factors
Again, even if you are sober and aren’t a threat to yourself or others, police may opt to leave you in the legal hold to teach you a lesson. So what is the best way to get out of a detox hold? Contact a criminal defense lawyer like Avery Appelman.
Your attorney can fill out the necessary paperwork to secure your release, and they can also expedite the process of receiving an “order of release” form, which has to be signed by a district court judge. A lawyer can usually get you out of the detox hold in a few hours assuming you’re not a threat to anyone else. We know that you want to get on with your life and prevent embarrassment that could be caused by an extensive detox hold, so if you or a loved one are stuck in a detox center, give Avery Appelman and his team a call at (952) 224-2277.
