Commission supports protective custody bill

A proposed local bill to allow specific law enforcement officers the authority to make temporary protective custody commitments received approval from the Dale County Commission at the meeting Feb. 26.

The commission authorized the legal advertising of the local legislation which will expand the ability of a designated and trained sheriff’s department officer to allow them to take a citizen they believe suffers from a mental illness into protective custody.

The officers would be responsible for transporting the residents to health facilities for further evaluation and for transporting them away from the facility if the citizen is deemed healthy.

Under existing law, a person may be involuntarily committedto an inpatient or outpatient facility for treatment of a mental illness upon an order from the probate judge of a county.

This bill would authorize a designated and trained law enforcement officer from the Dale County Sheriff’s office to take an individual whom the officer believes has a mental illness into protective custody under certain conditions and would provide for transporting the individual to a hospital or other facility for evaluation and treatment.

According to the proposed bill, once enacted, the bill will also “provide protection from civil or criminal liability to law enforcement officers, who, in good faith, place an individual the officer believes has a mental illness into protective custody.”

Dale County Commission Chairman Mark Blankenship said that Houston County has recently authorized advertising a similar local bill. “In short, it gives the designated law enforcement officer the authority to make temporary commitments at their discretion without the probate judge having to get involved,” he said.

In accordance with the proposed bill, being placed into protective custody by a law enforcement officer “shall not be considered an arrest for any purpose and no entry or other record may be made to indicate that an individual subject to temporary protective custody by a law enforcement officer under this section has been detained or charged with any crime.”

The commission’s authorization to legally advertise the bill is the first step in the process. The Dale County bill will need to be passed by the Alabama Legislature.

The next meeting of the Dale County Commission is Tuesday, March 12, at the Dale County Government Building in Ozark. A work session begins at 10 a.m. and is followed immediately by a voting meeting. Both meetings are open to the public.