(a) The City and County of San Francisco (the “City”) designates all employees of the San Francisco Fire Department (the “Fire Department”) who (1) are certified by the state of California as EMT-Ps or paramedics under Division 2.5 of the California Health and Safety Code, (2) are accredited by the City’s Local Emergency Medical Services Agency (LEMSA) as paramedics, and (3) meet all applicable procedural requirements adopted by the county behavioral health director under Section 5121 of the California Welfare and Institutions Code, to initiate temporary psychiatric holds under Section 5150 of the California Welfare and Institutions Code upon a finding of probable cause to initiate such holds under the criteria set forth in that section, and subject to all other requirements of that section for initiating such holds.
(b) The Fire Department and the Department of Public Health shall ensure that all individuals designated to initiate temporary psychiatric holds under subsection (a) receive all appropriate training, consistent with state and City law, regarding proper procedures in the initiation of temporary psychiatric holds under Section 5150 of the California Welfare and Institutions Code.
(Added by Ord. 115-21, File No. 210539, App. 8/4/2021, Eff. 9/4/2021)