Opinion No. Oag 56-88, (1988)

HEIDI L. HABEL, Corporation Counsel Monroe County

You have requested my opinion on several issues relating to the responsibility of a sheriff in the provision of medical care for indigent arrestees and prisoners.

Paraphrasing your first question, you ask:

1) Can a sheriff refuse to book an arrestee brought to the county jail by another police agency until the arrestee undergoes a medical examination? Can the sheriff require the arresting agency to transport the arrestee to such examination and to pay the cost for it?

You indicate that Wisconsin sheriffs have had longstanding policies of refusing…