There has to be more to this. I bet that he made some off the wall statement to someone about doing harm to someone. In Iowa, Police can take you to the hospital to be seen by a physician for an involuntary committal. The Dr. must get a verbal order from a judge and then the person is taken to a state hospital, evaluated and returned to the Co. where he was taken from for a hearing to determine if he needs to be held. These are usually for people threatening to or have attempted to commit suicide.