HOUSTON (AP) -- Since Texas law does not give police the authority to keep a weapon seized from someone they are transporting for psychiatric evaluation, authorities are often powerless to keep those weapons from getting back into the hands of people with mental health issues.
Police Chief Charles McClelland wants the Legislature to require a judge to decide if those who have been referred for mental health treatment are qualified to possess a gun.
State Rep. Allen Fletcher, a Republican from Tomball, is drafting a bill to keep those firearms in a police property room until a judge decides it should be returned.
McClelland tells the Houston Chronicle, “there should be an additional judicial review.”
State law only allows police to keep weapons used in the commission of a crime.
