Father Says Cop Shot His Mentally Ill Son 'Execution Style'

By CAMERON LANGFORD
Courthouse News Service
Apr. 30, 2015

HOUSTON (CN) - A Texas sheriff's deputy shot a schizophrenic suicidal man 11 times and killed him "execution style" while the man was being hit with a Taser, the man's father claims in court.

Darrell Turk sued four Fort Bend County sheriff's deputies for the estate of his son Michael Blair in Federal Court.

Fort Bend County is part of Greater Houston.

Turk says his family member called 911 on Nov. 4, 2013 and told the dispatcher Blair had locked himself in the family home's bathroom and was contemplating suicide.

They also called a mental health counselor with the hope of getting Blair to come out of the bathroom and get treatment for his paranoid schizophrenia, Turk says.

When four Fort Bend sheriff's deputies arrived, the family told them Blair was off his medicine and he had recently "become increasingly depressed, distant and agitated" but had no history of violence, the complaint states.

The deputies "expressly indicated" they understood Blair was mentally ill, that he "had not engaged in any criminal or violent act" and that "he did not pose a threat to others," Turk says.

The deputies asked the family to go outside. But they didn't know that someone in the house had set up an iPhone to record their encounter with Blair, Turk says.

With the video rolling, Turk says, deputy Toby Mangum gently knocked on the bathroom door and asked Blair to get dressed and come out so they could talk.

Within 30 seconds Mangum's tone took a 180 and he said, "If you don't hurry up and open the door we are going to kick it in," the April 21 complaint states.

Mangum started banging on the door, cracked it open and said "three times 'he's got a knife,'" before Blair closed the door, Turk says, citing the recording.

Mangum then kicked the door open and shouted at Blair to get down. The video shows Blair standing in the bathtub with no weapon in his hand and Mangum eight feet away pointing his gun at him, the father says.

As another deputy shot Blair with a Taser, Mangum shouted "Don't do it, don't do it" and "I don't want to shoot you, I don't want to shoot you, I don't want to shoot you," the complaint states.

"Again, at this time there does not appear to be any weapon visible in the hands of Blair, Blair is at least 8 - 9 feet away, and there does not reasonably appear to be any immediate threat to Deputy Sheriff T. Mangum or to any other deputy sheriff," according to the complaint.

Blair ended up sitting down in the tub with Mangum standing over him telling him to drop the knife, Turk says.

Mangum "then begins to back up saying to the deputy sheriff standing outside the bathroom door 'I need another Taser' and the recording audibly records Blair being tased," the complaint states.

Blair stood up as he was being shot with the Taser and Mangum shot him 11 times with his gun from six feet away, Turk says.

Turk says Blair never charged Mangum, and the deputy is to blame for escalating Blair's agitation and confusion.

Turk seeks damages for wrongful death and civil rights violations.

He is represented by Jimmie Brown of Missouri City.

A Fort Bend Sheriff's Office spokesman said it still employs Mangum but he could not comment on pending litigation.

The defendants are Deputies Toby Mangum, J. Goodrich, R. Hartfield and J. Moore.













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