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Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013 | 2 a.m.
The ever-bizarre saga of Assemblyman Steven Brooks' legal troubles took another strange turn Friday when police confiscated a sword from him while at a relative's house. Brooks was taken in for mental health evaluation under the auspices of a "Legal 2000" form, a document that allows authorities to hold someone who may be a danger to himself or others. According to the Legal 2000 form, a wide variety of positions of authority can start the process to hold a person for 72 hours. Positions such as psychiatrists, social workers, registered nurses, and officers authorized to make arrests in Nevada may ...
Definition of Mental Illness, NRS. 433A.115:
As used in NRS 433A.120 to 433A.330, inclusive, unless the context otherwise requires, "mentally ill person" means any person whose capacity to exercise self-control, judgment and discretion in the conduct of his/her affairs and social relations or to care for personal needs is diminished as a result of mental illness to the extent that (s)he presents a clear and present danger of harm to self or others, but does not include any person in whom that capacity is diminished by epilepsy, mental retardation, Alzheimer's disease, brief periods of intoxication caused by alcohol or drugs, or dependence upon or addiction to alcohol or drugs, unless a mental illness that can be diagnosed is also present which contributes to the diminished capacity of the person.
So 75% of "legal 2000's" are worthless pieces of paper according to state law.
Hence why the final determination is made by a doctor. Officer shows up to a call, person has committed no crime but says "when you leave, I will kill myself". Even if the officer can tell the person is drunk or high they can't just leave. Guess who gets sued when that person off's themselves and it comes to light that they told the officer they were going to do that? The city, department the officer.
So even though the law defines that those under brief periods of intoxication caused by alcohol or drugs aren't mentally ill, it is unreasonable to expect an officer to be able to tell if it's the alcohol or the mental illness making the statements to harm themselves or others.
NRS 433A.120 to 433A.330 pretty well describes every politico in the state. Maybe just lock the doors in Carson from the outside when they go into session and we have 'em all rounded up.
Maybe Metro and the NHP can implement L2K on some of the drivers around town?
So who detained Assemblymen Brooks on what grounds? The doctor could not have signed off on the 2nd page on any of those charges, unless they could somehow "prove" that Brooks was addicted to alcohol or drugs. Come on, what are the facts? You cannot hold people against their will in America when they have not committed any crimes.
BeSafest; Not enough rooms to keep them all locked up. Way too many out there among us.