veterans; emergency admission; transport

SB 1163 modifies Arizona's emergency mental health admission process to specifically include veterans. It allows police officers employed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to take veterans into custody and transport them to evaluation agencies when they are deemed a danger to self or others due to a mental disorder. The bill clarifies that VA police officers can act under the same emergency procedures as regular peace officers, including transporting veterans to screening or evaluation facilities without requiring a written application in urgent cases. This directly affects veterans experiencing acute mental health crises who might otherwise require standard police intervention. The law ensures VA police can participate in emergency transport under existing statutory requirements.