VOLUSIA EXPOSED

"When you have police officers who abuse citizens, you erode public confidence in law enforcement. That makes the job of good police officers unsafe". - Mary Frances Berry

Jail Inmate Attempts Suicide

According to a recently obtained Volusia County Sheriff Department incident report - during the late evening hours of December 28, 2015 - Volusia County jail Inmate Demetrius Taylor attempted suicide by hanging himself with a bed sheet.

Corrections Officer David Wasley discovered Taylor in distress, and with the assistance of other jail staff - were able to revive Taylor and have him medically transported to a local hospital.

MatchBox 20 - Unwell

Taylor Had Been Involuntarily Committed For Mental Health Treatment

According to court records on December 18, 2015 - Circuit Court Judge Frank Marriott had ruled that Taylor was incompetent to stand trial - and had ordered him involuntarily committed for mental health treatment. VolusiaExposed wonders why Taylor was still being housed at the Volusia County Branch Jail?

From our read of the court order - the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) should have taken custody of Mr. Taylor and placed him in a State mental health facility. In our opinion - county jails are poor substitutes for professional mental health facilities. And there you have it - VX has exposed a little of the underbelly of the local mental health monster that continues to go unchecked in our community.

We find it interesting that local officials think that they can handle the local homeless problem with their Safe Harbor project - but apparently, officials can not even find bed space for a man committed by the courts to be housed in a State mental health facility.

The public AND Mr. Taylor deserves better !

Court Order & VCSO Incident Report
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