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(June 10, 2014) Even though he had over 100 encounters with police officers, a man with untreated mental illness in Huntsville, Alabama, never received help in a treatment facility, according to reporter Margo Gray (“Huntsville man falls through mental health gap 100+ times,” WSFA.com, June 9).

Local police say they picked him up for crimes related to his mental illness over 168 times. The crimes included public lewdness, disorderly conduct and trespassing.

So why hasn’t this unnamed man received treatment?

In Alabama, when a person with mental illness encounters law enforcement, the officer is required to reach out to the mental health system. The charge is suspended until a petition is filed for court-ordered treatment. If the person is considered an “immediate danger to self or others” he or she can be committed for up to 150 days.

But there is a problem with this standard, said Brian Davis, executive director of the Mental Health Center of Madison County.

While waiting for an evaluation, “at some point that person is going to stabilize and no longer meet the criteria that is in the commitment law,” he continued. “This is a classic case of a gap in the system because once a person is stable and is discharged from , it is the choice of the person suffering from the illness to agree to continue treatment.”

In our survey of state civil commitment laws, Alabama was awarded an “F” for making it incredibly difficult for people in the midst of a psychiatric crisis to receive treatment. This means people, like this Huntsville man, who desperately need help, are unlikely to receive it and police officers in Alabama will continue to serve as de facto mental health workers.

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