§ 661. When sheriff party to an action or proceeding. 1. In an action
or special proceeding to which the sheriff is a party, all mandates
shall be directed to the county clerk of the county, who shall execute
the same with all the powers and duties of a sheriff including the power
to arrest under civil process and to accept undertakings for jail
liberties, and shall be subject to the same liability as the sheriff for
escape. The place of confinement of such sheriff shall be a house other
than the jail or the home of the sheriff situate within the limits of
jail liberties, and such house shall be deemed the county jail for all
purposes of confinement and liability for escape. Such clerk shall have
power to prosecute such undertaking the same as a sheriff and may assign
the undertaking to the party at whose instance such sheriff was
arrested.

2. When the sheriff is the plaintiff in an action or special
proceeding and another person is arrested under civil process at the
instance of the sheriff, the county clerk shall confine such person in
the county jail. The county clerk shall be liable in the same manner as
the sheriff, except that he shall not be liable while the person is
confined in the jail and in the custody of the sheriff.