under the law in many, if not most or all, jurisdictions, you can FORCE someone to get mental health treatment if they are in danger of hurting themselves or others. Of course, the criteria are very very strict and you have to prove to the cops and/or the courts that you are telling the truth and that the person, indeed, meets the criteria.
The cops usually know the criteria, it's part of their job. However, as one poster said, the cops are not famous for being kind gentle intervenors in mental health crises (they are simply not trained well, not that they are bad people). Cops are the absolute last resort.
Go to the mental health court in your jurisdiction. It's typically in the county courthouse and everyone working there knows where it is. The clerk there will know which paperwork to fill out and will help you as much as he or she can. You do NOT need a lawyer. Having a lawyer is helpful but NOT NECESSARY. It's not that difficult to do. You just have to learn the paperwork and procedures.
In my jurisdiction, it's called an ex parte procedure, and once your court date is set, you show up with your evidence (usually your testimony verbally) and see if you can bring an extra witness or two. If my memory serves me well, you need to have at least two eyewitnesses to the behavior to meet criteria. However, if that's absolutely impossible to meet, I would imagine the judge would accept only your testimony. You have to remember that this procedure HAS been abused, so you will be viewed very carefully as to your motives.
If anyone has strenous objections to that procedure for civil rights reasons, I'm NOT going to debate them with you. I get it, it is a way of forcing someone to do something. However, it's in the law to protect people from mental illness. Go take the debate to GD, NOT here.
Hope this helps. Good luck!
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