Ala. Code § 45-59-171.02: Mental Health Officer to Assess Condition of Any Individual Believed to Have a Mental Illness; Admission to Mental Health Facility.

(a) For purposes of this section, “mental health officer” includes the St. Clair County Mental Health Officer and any assistant mental health officer.

(b) In St. Clair County, when a law enforcement officer is confronted with circumstances that give the law enforcement officer reasonable cause for believing that an individual within the county has a mental illness and that the individual is likely to pose a real and present threat of substantial harm to self or others, the law enforcement officer shall contact the Office of the St. Clair County Mental Health Officer, and a mental health officer shall be dispatched to assess the condition of the individual and determine whether the individual needs the attention, specialized care, and services of a designated mental health facility.

(c) If the mental health officer determines from the conditions, symptoms, and behavior that the individual appears to have a mental illness and poses a real and present threat of substantial harm to self or others, a law enforcement officer shall take the individual into custody and deliver the individual directly to a mental health facility. If the responding mental health officer is a law enforcement officer certified by the Alabama Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission, the mental health officer may take the individual into custody and deliver the individual to the mental health facility. The responding mental health officer shall provide notice to the mental health facility that the individual in custody appears to have a mental illness and is in need of examination and observation.

(d) Within 24 hours of the notice, a psychiatrist or other physician licensed to practice medicine and authorized by the facility’s medical staff bylaws to admit patients for the treatment of mental or emotional illnesses shall make a determination as to whether to admit the individual to the designated mental health facility as a patient tentatively diagnosed with a mental illness for further observation and attention.

(e)(1) If the mental health facility determines the individual’s status re-quires commitment pursuant to Article 1 of Chapter 52 of Subtitle 2 of Title 22, the mental health facility shall notify the Office of the St. Clair County Mental Health Officer, which shall file a petition for commitment with the probate court. The petition shall be signed not later than the second business day following receipt of notice from the facility.

(2) If the mental health facility determines the individual’s status does not require commitment, the mental health facility shall notify the Office of the St. Clair County Mental Health Officer, which shall arrange for the release of the individual from custody unless the individual is otherwise subject to arrest pursuant to law. After the individual is released and if so requested by the individual, a mental health officer or a law enforcement officer shall deliver the individual to the individual’s residence or other place of abode if it is within the county.

(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize or permit any individual not licensed to practice medicine to perform any act or render any service that constitutes the practice of medicine.