Warning the story below is a disgrace- it's such proof of abuse of power on all levels!
OCALA - Most of Herman B. Tucker's short life was spent behind the walls of various institutions.
Born in Ohio, Tucker grew up in Tampa, but landed in a foster home at the age of 7. He died in a Marion County Jail cell in September 2002. He was 24.
His records show a history of behavioral, emotional and psychological problems, as well as criminal charges.
His mother says his earliest diagnosis was bipolar disorder.
Tucker was placed in foster care, because of "concerns that his mother had alcohol problems," according to Karen Gievers, the attorney representing Tucker's estate.
Ideally, she said, he should have been released back to his mother within the first year, but remained in the foster care system until he was 17.
During an escape attempt from a psychiatric hospital in Tampa in 1994, he was accused of several crimes, including false imprisonment, aggravated assault with a weapon, battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest with violence and battery on a detention facility staff member.
His mother says he escaped to come home to his family.
But after spending a year in jail, the boy whose only tattoo read "mom," was tried as an adult and sentenced to seven years in prison.
While incarcerated, Tucker was given powerful cocktails of psychotropic medications to control his behavior.
At 23 he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
By then, he also was suffering from tardive dyskinesia, a neurological syndrome caused by the long-term use of neuroleptic drugs.
The syndrome is characterized by repetitive, involuntary, purposeless movements. Other symptoms may include grimacing, tongue protrusion, lip smacking, puckering and pursing, and rapid eye blinking.
Rapid movements of the arms, legs and trunk may also occur, according to the the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.But when he was finally released from Lake City Prison on Aug. 1, 2002, he went home to his mother with no medication or plan to see a psychiatrist.
Unable to afford his medication, Tucker's condition began to deteriorate. "He started talking about killing himself, saying 'I might as well die,'--" his mother, Carolyn Tucker recalled.
Fearing for his well-being, and less than two weeks after his release, she called police to have him involuntarily committed under the state's Baker Act. "I figured if I send him back to the Marion Citrus Mental Health Center (now The Centers), he'd get the medication he needed. I explained it to him."
But at The Centers, Tucker became combative and attacked a care provider. He was arrested and taken to the Marion County Jail.
He arrived there on Aug. 10. A little over a month later, he was dead.
His records show:
* A psychiatrist at the jail twice evaluated Tucker, finding him "reasonably stable." But he was not called to see him after Tucker's condition began to deteriorate. Tucker was in a suicide prevention cell almost the entire time he was incarcerated.
* He was put on Geodon, a drug used to treat schizophrenia, acute mania and mixed episodes associated with bipolar disorder, starting Aug. 15. But he also received at least seven Emergency Treatment Orders, which is a combination of Haldol, an anti-psychotic drug that can cause tardive dyskinesia, the tranquilizer Ativan and Benadryl, which also has sedating effects. The combination is referred to as chemical restraint.
* He was also Tasered, tied to a restraining chair and pepper-sprayed, records show.
* There are reports of him being unable to swallow, having increased tremors, increased self-mutilation and increased aggression.
His mother visited him once at the jail. "I had to call in for a special visit .--.--. He was drugged up. He was drooling and wearing an orange and white suit like a dress, shackled and handcuffed. He told me, 'Mom, they're hurting me.'--
"Thirty-six days after his arrest, Tucker was found unresponsive on the floor of his cell, his mouth and throat filled with chunks of food. He was pronounced dead. The medical examiner rule the cause as asphyxiation.
"There was this chain of events that makes you want to pull your hair out and wonder why society doesn't care about people," said Gievers.
The estate of Herman Tucker filed suit in 2006 against Sheriff Ed Dean, jail officials, The Centers' staff members, and Prison Health Services employees, for criminalization of mental illness."
PHS made it clear that it wasn't their job to treat mental health issues," said Gievers.
"They made it clear that their role was to give the jail personnel a green light on certain discipline techniques. ... The discovery and records show they were not making any attempt to identify and treat Herman's issue. They were just trying to keep them under control."
Experts hired by PHS have said "Tucker's care was excellent and exceptional," Gievers said.
Neither PHS nor the Sheriff's Office would comment on the case because of the pending litigation. The case is set to go to trail in March in federal court.
"He shouldn't have been taken to jail. He needed mental health care. That's why he was Baker Acted," Tucker's mother said. "He was a wonderful kid. Happy-go-lucky and protective of me and his sister ... it's a tragic waste of life. He never got a chance to straighten out."
BY NASEEM S. MILLERSTAR-BANNER
http://www.ocala.com/article/20071216/NEWS/212160328/1001/NEWS01
http://suncanaa.com/
OCALA - Most of Herman B. Tucker's short life was spent behind the walls of various institutions.
Born in Ohio, Tucker grew up in Tampa, but landed in a foster home at the age of 7. He died in a Marion County Jail cell in September 2002. He was 24.
His records show a history of behavioral, emotional and psychological problems, as well as criminal charges.
His mother says his earliest diagnosis was bipolar disorder.
Tucker was placed in foster care, because of "concerns that his mother had alcohol problems," according to Karen Gievers, the attorney representing Tucker's estate.
Ideally, she said, he should have been released back to his mother within the first year, but remained in the foster care system until he was 17.
During an escape attempt from a psychiatric hospital in Tampa in 1994, he was accused of several crimes, including false imprisonment, aggravated assault with a weapon, battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest with violence and battery on a detention facility staff member.
His mother says he escaped to come home to his family.
But after spending a year in jail, the boy whose only tattoo read "mom," was tried as an adult and sentenced to seven years in prison.
While incarcerated, Tucker was given powerful cocktails of psychotropic medications to control his behavior.
At 23 he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
By then, he also was suffering from tardive dyskinesia, a neurological syndrome caused by the long-term use of neuroleptic drugs.
The syndrome is characterized by repetitive, involuntary, purposeless movements. Other symptoms may include grimacing, tongue protrusion, lip smacking, puckering and pursing, and rapid eye blinking.
Rapid movements of the arms, legs and trunk may also occur, according to the the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.But when he was finally released from Lake City Prison on Aug. 1, 2002, he went home to his mother with no medication or plan to see a psychiatrist.
Unable to afford his medication, Tucker's condition began to deteriorate. "He started talking about killing himself, saying 'I might as well die,'--" his mother, Carolyn Tucker recalled.
Fearing for his well-being, and less than two weeks after his release, she called police to have him involuntarily committed under the state's Baker Act. "I figured if I send him back to the Marion Citrus Mental Health Center (now The Centers), he'd get the medication he needed. I explained it to him."
But at The Centers, Tucker became combative and attacked a care provider. He was arrested and taken to the Marion County Jail.
He arrived there on Aug. 10. A little over a month later, he was dead.
His records show:
* A psychiatrist at the jail twice evaluated Tucker, finding him "reasonably stable." But he was not called to see him after Tucker's condition began to deteriorate. Tucker was in a suicide prevention cell almost the entire time he was incarcerated.
* He was put on Geodon, a drug used to treat schizophrenia, acute mania and mixed episodes associated with bipolar disorder, starting Aug. 15. But he also received at least seven Emergency Treatment Orders, which is a combination of Haldol, an anti-psychotic drug that can cause tardive dyskinesia, the tranquilizer Ativan and Benadryl, which also has sedating effects. The combination is referred to as chemical restraint.
* He was also Tasered, tied to a restraining chair and pepper-sprayed, records show.
* There are reports of him being unable to swallow, having increased tremors, increased self-mutilation and increased aggression.
His mother visited him once at the jail. "I had to call in for a special visit .--.--. He was drugged up. He was drooling and wearing an orange and white suit like a dress, shackled and handcuffed. He told me, 'Mom, they're hurting me.'--
"Thirty-six days after his arrest, Tucker was found unresponsive on the floor of his cell, his mouth and throat filled with chunks of food. He was pronounced dead. The medical examiner rule the cause as asphyxiation.
"There was this chain of events that makes you want to pull your hair out and wonder why society doesn't care about people," said Gievers.
The estate of Herman Tucker filed suit in 2006 against Sheriff Ed Dean, jail officials, The Centers' staff members, and Prison Health Services employees, for criminalization of mental illness."
PHS made it clear that it wasn't their job to treat mental health issues," said Gievers.
"They made it clear that their role was to give the jail personnel a green light on certain discipline techniques. ... The discovery and records show they were not making any attempt to identify and treat Herman's issue. They were just trying to keep them under control."
Experts hired by PHS have said "Tucker's care was excellent and exceptional," Gievers said.
Neither PHS nor the Sheriff's Office would comment on the case because of the pending litigation. The case is set to go to trail in March in federal court.
"He shouldn't have been taken to jail. He needed mental health care. That's why he was Baker Acted," Tucker's mother said. "He was a wonderful kid. Happy-go-lucky and protective of me and his sister ... it's a tragic waste of life. He never got a chance to straighten out."
BY NASEEM S. MILLERSTAR-BANNER
http://www.ocala.com/article/20071216/NEWS/212160328/1001/NEWS01
http://suncanaa.com/
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