Marvin Scott III, a black man in Texas, died in March while in police custody. As the public demanded answers as to why a seemingly healthy 26-year-old lost his life at the Collin County jail, he was being held. An investigation led to the firing of seven Allen Police Department officers. As more details emerge from the strange case, a Texas medical examiner revealed this week that Scott’s cause of death is listed as homicide.
Dr. William Rohr, Collin County’s Medical Examiner, released the information in a press release, saying Scott’s in-custody death was indeed a homicide and a “fatal acute stress response in an individual with previously diagnosed schizophrenia during restraint struggle with law enforcement.” According to CBS News, Rohr is waiting for additional lab results to produce a full autopsy report.
The death of a Black man who struggled with detention officers at a Texas jail has been ruled a homicide. Marvin Scott III died last month after he was jailed on a marijuana possession charge. https://t.co/KiemiV4yfL
— The Associated Press (@AP) April 30, 2021
New Onyx reported the police custody death last month after Allen police arrested Scott after his family called 911 dispatchers due to him experiencing a mental health crisis. Suffering from schizophrenia and under medication, he was initially taken to a hospital but transported to jail after being found with marijuana.
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After Scott exhibited what cops describe as “some strange behavior,” they allegedly attempted to subdue him by pepper spraying the young Black man and stapping him into a restraint bed. Scott then became unresponsive. According to Collin County Sheriff Jim Skinner, Scott “immediately” received care, but to no avail. After being transported to a local hospital, he was pronounced dead on March 14.
Following an internal investigation into Scott’s death, Skinner announced on March 19 that seven Collin County police officers had been fired. An eighth officer also resigned. But with Scott’s cause of death now being listed as homicide and an autopsy report on the way, the officers might be facing criminal charges soon.
