Man who died in Collin County jail was having ‘mental health crisis,’ attorney says

Seven Collin County jail employees were placed on administrative leave after a 26-year-old man died there Sunday afternoon, hours after his family says he was arrested for marijuana possession.

The Collin County Sheriff’s Office released a statement Monday about the death of Marvin David Scott III, but has not yet detailed what led to his arrest. The Texas Rangers are investigating Scott’s death.

Attorney Lee Merritt, who represents Scott’s family, confirmed to NBC 5 that the McKinney resident was arrested on marijuana charges. Merritt said Allen Police officers reported finding a small item that appeared to contain marijuana, such as a joint, near Scott, who was at the Allen Premium Outlets.

The prominent civil rights attorney described Scott’s arrest as inappropriate. Merritt has represented the families of Botham Jean and Jordan Edwards, among other Texas victims of alleged police brutality. Merrit told NBC 5 that Scott was diagnosed with schizophrenia and was suffering from a mental health crisis at the time of his arrest.

Merritt said Scott, who is Black, was taking medications and had not experienced an episode related to his mental illness for at least a year. In previous encounters with law enforcement, he was taken to facilities to receive treatment, instead of being incarcerated, Merritt said.

Merritt told NBC 5 that there is a video related to Scott’s death but has not identified the source.

“There was ample time to evaluate him to understand this was someone in crisis who needed help and they chose not to provide help, they chose to use force instead and as a result a valuable member of this family is gone,” Merritt told the news station.

Scott’s older sister told NBC 5 that his family was informed of his death via text nearly 14 hours after he died.

Merritt’s office told The Dallas Morning News he would provide further comment Thursday.

The sheriff’s office has not responded to a request for comment but previously said in a statement that it will not provide further information until the Texas Rangers complete their investigation.

Additionally, a public records request for a copy of Scott’s arrest affidavit has not yet been fulfilled.