COLLIN COUNTY, Texas — Updated at 10:30 p.m. Friday following interview with Marvin Scott III's family.
The family of Marvin Scott III wants answers. They spoke at a rally Friday night in McKinney to demand justice for their son.
Scott died in-custody at the Collin County jail on March 14. Seven jail employees have been put on leave and the Texas Rangers are investigating the incident.
The families of Atatiana Jefferson and Botham Jean joined Scott's family at the rally outside Collin County Courthouse at 7 p.m.
Officials said Scott was arrested by Allen police on March 14 for possession of fewer than 2 ounces of marijuana. They said he also appeared to be in a mental health crisis.
Paramedics took Scott to a hospital first because police thought he had taken drugs and said he was acting in an erratic manner, officials said. He spent three hours there before he was taken to the Collin County jail.
Scott was transported to the Collin County Detention Facility around 6 p.m.
Collin County Sheriff Jim Skinner said while in the jail's booking lobby, Scott exhibited some "strange behavior," so detention officers tried to secure him to a restraint bed. He said during the process the officers used pepper spray once and also placed a spit mask on his face.
About four hours later, around 10:30 p.m. while being placed on the restraint bed, Skinner said Scott became unresponsive. Nursing staff called an ambulance and transported him to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The family and their attorney say Scott suffered from schizophrenia and law enforcement knew that based on his past arrests.
"There's different protocols with people with mental health issues that when officers are aware of it they are supposed to take certain precautions. They were not taken here," said Lee Merritt, attorney for the Scott family.
His family wants to see video footage of what happened leading up to his death. They also said more mental health precautions should have been taken.
"The death of this young man is a profound tragedy and we have an obligation to uncover the full and complete truth," Skinner said during a news conference last week.
Jefferson and Jean were both killed by police officers in North Texas. Their cases gained national attention.
Jefferson, 28, was playing video games with her nephew at her Fort Worth home when former Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean walked into the backyard in October 2019. She had gotten up to look out the window when she was shot, police records show. Dean is charged with murder in Jefferson's death.
Jean, 26, was shot and killed by former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger in September 2018, while he was eating ice cream inside his own apartment.
Guyger was off duty but still in her police uniform. She said she believed she was walking into her own apartment and thought Jean was an intruder.
The Scott Family
WFAA spoke with Marvin's father and mother Marvin Scott Jr. and LaSandra Scott. They are very private people, who have been thrust into the public eye because of what happened to their son.
The family is originally from St. Louis, Missouri and moved to North Texas in 2005. Marvin Scott III graduated from Heritage High School.
LaSandra Scott said her son was a straight-A student who played football in high school. He had a larger than life personality and always had a joke or something funny to say.
Scott III also loved music and could often be heard "freestyling" music.
"We called him 'Lil Marvin,'" LaSandra said ironically while describing him as 6' 1 and over 300 pounds.
The family told WFAA that Marvin Scott III was struggling with his mental health. His father said Scott III had come to terms with his mental illness after he had multiple arrests stemming from those struggles.
His father even moved from St. Louis to help him through it by making sure he was taking his medications and on a schedule.
"He was first diagnosed two years ago with schizophrenia. The only support I can give him is come be with him," said Marvin Scott Jr..
The family said Scott III needed the right support on March 14, the day he was arrested and taken to jail and later died. The family said he was in a mental health crisis and needed a behavioral center and not jail.
The family told WFAA that Scott had a group of local doctors and therapists at local mental health centers who could have easily treated his crisis.
"What inside of you allowed you to treat someone the manner that you treated my son?" said Marvin Scott Jr..
The family is fighting for the video inside the jail to be released to the public and a mother is prepared to see it.
"Yes, I want the truth. The truth hurts and I want to see it," said LaSandra Scott.
The funeral for Marvin Scott III is scheduled for next week in their hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. The following funding page has been set up to help the family with funeral expenses: https://gofund.me/c53f703a.