LAW WITHOUT
GOVERNOR'S CHAPTER
SIGNATURE
377
JUNE 29, 2021 PUBLIC LAW
STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-ONE
_____
H.P. 590 - L.D. 785
An Act To Change the Standard for Taking a Person into Protective Custody
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 34-B MRSA §3862, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2019, c. 411, Pt. C, §5 and
affected by Pt. D, §3, is further amended to read:
1. Law enforcement officer's power. If a law enforcement officer has probable cause
to believe that a person may be mentally ill and that due to that condition the person presents
a threat of imminent and substantial physical harm to that person or to other persons poses
a likelihood of serious harm as defined in section 3801, subsection 4-A, paragraph A, B or
C, or if a law enforcement officer knows that a person has an advance health care directive
authorizing mental health treatment and the officer has probable cause to believe that the
person lacks capacity, the law enforcement officer:
A. May take the person into protective custody; and
B. If the law enforcement officer does take the person into protective custody, shall
deliver the person immediately for examination by a medical practitioner as provided
in section 3862‑A or 3863 or, for a person taken into protective custody who has an
advance health care directive authorizing mental health treatment, for examination as
provided in Title 18‑C, section 5‑803, subsection 4 to determine the individual's
capacity and the existence of conditions specified in the advance health care directive
for the directive to be effective.
When formulating probable cause, the law enforcement officer may rely upon information
provided by a 3rd-party informant if the officer confirms that the informant has reason to
believe, based upon the informant's recent personal observations of or conversations with
a person, that the person may be mentally ill and that due to that condition the person
presents a threat of imminent and substantial physical harm to that person or to other
persons poses a likelihood of serious harm as defined in section 3801, subsection 4-A,
paragraph A, B or C.
Page 1 - 130LR0532(03)


Statutes affected:
Bill Text LD 785, HP 590: 34-B.3801
Bill Text ACTPUB , Chapter 377: 34-B.3862