7 Employees Placed On Leave After Man Dies While In Jail

An internal administrative investigation has been called by Texas Rangers for seven employees of the Collin County Detention Center in Mckinney, Texas after a man died in their custody. The employees have been placed on leave. 

On Sunday (March 14), 26-year-old Marvin D. Scott III of Frisco, Texas was apprehended and taken to Collin County Detention Facility where he later died, as seven detention center employees attempted to put Scott into his cell. 

According to WFAA, security guards at Allen outlet mall alerted police of a suspected marijuana smell in the parking lot on Sunday. Scott’s family’s attorney, Lee Merritt, says Scott was incoherent when officers approached him, likely leading police to transport him to Texas Health Presbyterian. Merritt says a doctor signed off on the paperwork, saying Scott was “fit to be incarcerated.” 

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This led to police transporting Scott to the detention center, where the detention employees’ use of force with Scott can be described as “overly physical,” according to the family’s attorney. Scott began to suffer multiple mental health episodes and detention officers attempted to restrain Scott into a cell.  

“They took him to jail, and in that jail, he was killed and the men who participated in that, their acts were criminal,” says Merritt. 

Merritt notes that Scott’s first autopsy showed signs of  a heart-related death. Merritt believes Scott should’ve been taken to a treatment center instead of the detention center. Scott’s family and Meritt intend to bring in an independent forensic examiner to figure out the cause of death. The family says Scott was working on his mental health. 

In Mckinney, Texas, more than 200 people were present at Town Lake Park on Tuesday night (March 16) for Scott’s memorial held by the family. The event included a candlelight vigil, balloon release, and a slideshow for the man they called a “gentle giant.”

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