Marvin Scott Collin County Texas death leads to 7 jail guards fired for the custody death of mentally ill black man who experienced schizophrenia after a marijuana arrest. Likely died from being restrained and asphyxiation.
Seven Texas jail guards have been fired in connection with the in-custody death of a schizophrenic black man — who was restrained, pepper-sprayed and covered with a spit mask, sheriff’s officials said.
Marvin Scott III, 26, died on March 14 at the Collin County Jail, where he was in custody on misdemeanor marijuana possession charges.
The detention officers’ firing, three weeks after Scott’s death comes as activist’s spent every night outside jail protesting the man’s death WFAA reports.
‘Evidence I have seen confirms that these detention officers violated well-established Sheriff’s Office policies and procedures,’ Collin County Sheriff Jim Skinner said in a statement announcing the terminations of the detention officers Thursday. ‘Everyone in Collin County deserves safe and fair treatment, including those in custody at our jail. I will not tolerate less.’
Cops first transported Scott to a hospital in Allen, where he was arrested, because an officer recognized he was likely having a mental health crisis, an attorney for his family, S. Lee Merritt, told KXAS.
Debased procedure to contain mentally ill man
Scott was treated in an emergency room for about three hours before he was released and taken to the county jail. Once in the booking area, the man whose family said he had been previously diagnosed with schizophrenia started ‘exhibiting some strange behavior,’ Skinner reportedly said at a March 19 news conference.
That prompted several officers to strap Scott to a restraint bed and pepper-spray him.
But there’s more.
A spit hood was also put over Scott’s head about four hours after he was booked, the Dallas Morning News reported.
Scott, a resident of Frisco, was later rushed to a hospital upon becoming unresponsive, and he was pronounced dead.
The county’s medical examiner is expected to release Scott’s autopsy in coming weeks, but an independent review by a pathologist found he likely died from being restrained and asphyxiation, KXAS reported.
The Collins County Sheriff’s Office said surveillance video likely captured the sequence of events inside the jail but has yet to be released according to WFAA.
This decision comes as this memorial remains on the fence in the staff parking lot at the Collin County jail.
Supporters spent multiple nights outside of the jail calling for justice for Marvin Scott III. pic.twitter.com/Eo5gylxwBe
— Morgan Young (@MorganYoungTV) April 1, 2021
Ongoing investigation
The seven officers who were fired, included a captain, a lieutenant and two sergeants, the Dallas Morning News reported. They have not been publicly identified.
Skinner said an eighth officer has submitted his resignation.
An investigation by the Texas Rangers is ongoing, Skinner added.
Scott’s mother said her son had been diagnosed with schizophrenia two years earlier but had not experienced a mental health crisis in a year.
‘When we got him OK with his medication, he was starting to take them and fell off and felt like if he would use marijuana, it would benefit him more,’ LaSandra Scott said.
Scott’s funeral was held Tuesday in St. Louis, where he grew up, WFAA reported.
‘We are pleased with the decision and consider this progress, the first step of many more to come,’ Scott’s family said in a statement Thursday. ‘Next, these former officers need to be arrested and brought to justice.’
Unclear was the timeline to bring charges against any or all of the jail guards involved. Also unclear is the public dissemination of video which captured the last moments of Scott.
