A 29-year-old man detained for mental health issues at a Florida hospital was fatally shot after he grabbed a pair of scissors and threatened to stab sheriff’s deputies.
The man was among several people being held at the hospital despite threatening to harm themselves or others because there were no beds at the local mental health facility, Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers said.
“This is a terrible tragedy, not just in our county, but in our country. We are facing a mental health crisis,” Flowers said.
The man’s family took him to the emergency department of the Cleveland Indian River Clinic in Vero Beach on Friday after he tried to hang himself, Flowers told reporters on Sunday.
“Grab a pair of scissors, a big pair of scissors, and run through the hospital,” the sheriff said.
The officers began chasing him and he raised the scissors above his head.
“At that point, our agents start to pull back,” Flowers said. “Again, a small narrow corridor, stretchers, all kinds of things in there. They draw their guns and two of the deputies fire, shooting and killing this man.”
The man was being held under Florida’s Mental Health Law, commonly called the Baker Act, which allows authorities to hold someone in a mental health facility for up to 72 hours if they pose a threat to themselves or others.
He and other patients who were also taken to the hospital for mental health issues were unable to receive care at a mental health center Saturday because it was full, Flowers said.
“The fact that we were there taking people for suicide incidents because of the Baker Acts, that they had several Baker Act patients waiting to be transported to a facility because there weren’t enough beds, and the fact that this gentleman had been waiting there for a day and half shows what kind of mental health crisis we’re in right now,” the sheriff said.
The deputies have been placed on administrative leave while the shooting is reviewed.
