‘Stop Punching Him!’: Concerned Alabama Mother Calls Police for Son’s Nonaggressive Mental Health Crisis. The Cops Gives Him Two Choices –Jail or Hospital. He Ends Up Dead
John Daniel Scott Jr., a 41-year-old Black man and loving father of five children, was demonstrating a non-aggressive demeanor to Alabama police officers and paramedics last week when they showed up to his home after his mother had called 911 to report he was suffering a mental health crisis.
However, he had a warrant for his arrest after failing to appear in court in 2021 for a speeding ticket. So, Decatur police gave him the choice of either being transported to a hospital for evaluation or being taken to jail to serve his warrant. Scott did not appear to like either option and tried to reason with them, but was not hostile or raising his voice.
The cops became impatient and grabbed his arms to arrest him, tasering and punching him several times before placing him in the back of a patrol car.
“Stop punching him,” his mother can be heard yelling in the body camera footage released by police, which can be viewed at the bottom of the story.
Scott was pronounced dead Tuesday morning at a local hospital, where he had been confined for a week.
Now, interim Decatur Police Chief Nadis Carlisle said he was asked by the FBI and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency to investigate his death, according to News 19. Leading the investigation is the Madison County Sheriff’s Office.
But for Rodney Gordon, president of the local NAACP, the death of a Black man after being taken into custody by police is simply the latest incident in a long line of deadly incidents stretching back decades.
“Here we go again,” Gordon told The Washington Post. “We stated that this was going to happen again, based on what happened when Steve Perkins died.”
Gordon was referring to February’s resignation of Decatur Police Chief Todd Pinion following the backlash the department received from the community after police shot and killed Perkins in a hail of bullets in front of his home in 2023. Last month, the cop who killed Perkins, Mac Marquette, was charged with murder.
“They shifted the police chief, but they got the same players still playing the game,” Gordon said. “How can you not change the officers and expect different results?”
The mother of his children, Heather Chandler Scott, posted a series of photos of Scott with his children. She also wrote the following post on behalf of one of their children.
“My kids don’t have social media, but Jax wants me to share this story. So I’m sharing for him,” she wrote.
“One day his dad came home with a trunk full of sandwich bread, peanut butter, chips. He came in and called Jax and they started making sandwiches. John said they were making sandwiches to take downtown Birmingham to give the homeless some lunch. And that’s exactly what he and Jax did. That’s who John was to the core.”
The Arrest
Scott’s mother, Paulette Tennison Sanders, had called police for help during the day on April 15 because her son was experiencing a mental health episode and was likely off his medication.
Police showed up with the department’s mental health liaison, but determined Scott was not a threat to himself or anybody else, so they left.
Later that evening, she called police again because he was still experiencing a mental health crisis, resulting in five police officers arriving with paramedics.
A 28-minute body camera video released by Decatur police shows Scott engaging with police and paramedics in a civil conversation for more than 13 minutes before they decided to arrest him.
The cops grabbed his arms to handcuff him, and he fell to the ground and began panicking, complaining about his neck.
The cops became more aggressive, ordering him to turn over, and he responded, “I’m trying,” while repeatedly apologizing, saying, “I’m sorry.”
Then they began tasering him while ordering him to turn around and place his back, and he kept telling them he was trying to do so.
At least one cop had his knee on his back, making it difficult for him to abide by their orders. Then one cop started punching him.
As the cops struggled to place him in the car after handcuffing him, Scott repeatedly told the cops, “I can’t breathe.”
“You can breathe,” one cop responded. “Stand up!”
Interim Chief Carlisle, who is Black, issued the following statement to local media regarding the events that occurred after Scott was transported to jail.
Following the incident, Scott was transported to the Morgan County Jail, where custody was officially transferred to the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office. During the booking process, Scott continued to actively resist the efforts of correctional officers. He was placed in a cell and later began showing signs of medical distress.
The jail staff called for an ambulance, and Scott was transported to Decatur Morgan Hospital, where he experienced a medical emergency that required life-saving measures. We are actively monitoring his condition and remain in contact with his family.
It is important to note that this incident may involve what is medically referred to as excited delirium, a potentially life-threatening condition that can occur in individuals undergoing extreme agitation, often influenced by mental health issues or substance use. A final determination will be made by medical professionals.
But it is also important to note that “excited delirium” is a debunked medical condition that cops have been using for decades to justify killing people.
On Tuesday, one week after his arrest, Scott passed away in the hospital.
In a GoFundMe to raise money for funeral expenses, his mother said her son died of a heart attack and kidney failure.
My name is Paulette Tennison Sanders and my son John Scott Jr was dealing with a mental crisis and like any mother I did the one thing I felt was the best thing to do. I called Decatur Police Dept. to help him. In return I received the most detrimental news a mother could receive. My son was taken by the LEO to the hospital, where he lay lifeless fighting for his life. He experienced a massive heart attack and went into kidney failure.
She has raised just over $12,000 as of this writing.
Nationally renowned attorney Lee Merrick said he has been retained by the family and will be filing a lawsuit, according to News 19.
“Our office has been formally retained by the family of LJ, known affectionately, Mr. John Scott… to investigate not only his arrest and incarceration, but his death and the policies of the police department and the City of Decatur that may have been contributory,” Merritt said who is also representing the family of Perkins, the other Black man killed by Decatur police.
Watch the full video below. The arrest begins near the 13-minute mark.