Establishing Probable Cause for W&I 5150

This post is offered as a discussion topic only and does not represent legal advice. Officers must refer to the laws in their own State as well as their agency's policies, which can be more restrictive on officers than the law requires.

Scenario:  An officer is working patrol when they encounter a subject that is visibly upset and possibly intoxicated. Upon further inspection, the officer notices several open wounds consistent with self-harm.

Does the officer have enough probable cause to detain the person and take them to the hospital per Welfare and Institutions Code 5150?"

Answer: Did you know that the standard to take someone for a mental health hold or as we know it, Welfare and Institutions Code Section 5150, the standard that must be met is Probable Cause? This is due to the 4th Amendment implications in taking someone to the hospital, sometimes when they don’t want to go.   

This was established in the 1983 California Court of Appeals 1st District Case People v Triplett. In this case, the court said, “To constitute probable cause to detain a person pursuant to section 5150, a state of facts must be known to the peace officer (or other authorized person) that would lead a person of ordinary care and prudence to believe, or to entertain a strong suspicion, that the person detained is mentally disordered and is a danger to himself or herself or is gravely disabled. In justifying the particular intrusion, the officer must be able to point to specific and articulatable  facts which, taken together with rational inferences from those facts, reasonably warrant his or her belief or suspicion.” 

So, remember, when an officer is detaining and taking a subject to the hospital or designated facility, they must meet the probable cause standard and be able to articulate the facts that led them to that conclusion, not that the subject simply “met the criteria.” And as always, an officer should make sure to refer to their agency's policy as it can be more restrictive than the law.

To learn more on this topic, search The Briefing Room library for the video titled, "Is a Person's Suicidal Statement Enough For a WI5150 Hold?" under the California Law Category.

This blog topic serves as a summary of our video lesson on this crucial topic. If you're interested in accessing the full video lesson and additional resources, click the link to register for your free 30-day trial.