Huntington Passes New Public Intoxication Ordinance

Huntington police officers can now take publicly intoxicated individuals to a treatment facility instead of jail.

The Herald-Dispatch reports that the Huntington City Council passed an ordinance on Monday to allow police officers to take individuals arrested for public intoxication to a treatment center to detox and issue a citation rather than taking them to a hospital and then to jail.

Recovery Point, formerly the Healing Place, says it will offer space for the police to bring men who have been arrested for public intoxication. It is a male-only facility, and Huntington Police Chief Joe Ciccarelli says the department is working on a similar arrangement with female facilities.

Ciccarelli says individuals who face more serious charges related to their public intoxication arrest would still face prosecution on those charges.