VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — A man was taken into custody for a mental health evaluation and then tased by deputies when he became combative Wednesday morning, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office said.
911 CALLS: Tased Man (explicit) | Witness
The deputy said 30-year-old Adam Disalvo slipped out of handcuffs while in the back of a patrol car and was kicking at officers. He was tased and, 35 minutes later, he collapsed and stopped breathing. The sheriff's office said the deputy was forced to use his taser when Disalvo wouldn't calm down.
Disalvo was taken to Florida Hospital in Ormond Beach. He was listed in critical condition Wednesday afternoon.
Neighbors on Beechwood Drive in Ormond Beach told WFTV Disalvo was acting crazy Wednesday morning.
"He was screaming, yelling, profusely sweating and pretty much looked like he was on drugs, really amped up," a neighbor who didn't want to be identified said.
The Volusia County Sheriff's office said everything began at 7:10 Wednesday morning when Disalvo called 911 claiming he had been robbed.
"Did they take anything from you?" the 911 operator asked Disalvo.
"Yes ma'am. Not much, but...," he replied.
Investigators said it was clear during the call that Disalvo wasn't a victim of a robbery and needed help.
"I messed up. I did drugs tonight," Disalvo said in the call.
Minutes later, another call was placed to 911, but this time by a woman who said a man was screaming saying that he had been robbed. When deputies arrived, they determined that Disalvo met the Baker Act criteria and took him into custody.
"There was like six or eight possible cars in the street, a Beach Patrol, a fire truck, an ambulance," the neighbor said.
According to deputies, when Disalvo was handcuffed and put in the patrol car he managed to get out of the cuffs and started kicking Deputy Bradley Schindelheim. Schindleheim pulled out his taser, set it on stun and shocked Disalvo.
Disalvo was still acting agitated and combative after being stunned, according to the sheriff's office report on the incident, so the deputy deployed the taser again, gained control of him, removed him from the patrol car and put the cuffs back on.
Thirty-five minutes later, Disalvo collapsed and stopped breathing. Disalvo remained hospitalized Wednesday evening.
This isn't the first time a suspect has been hospitalized after being shocked with a taser. In 2009, a man died after Rockledge police shocked him. And, in 2008, a man died after Orange County sheriff's deputies hit him with a stun gun.
FDLE is investigating what happened Wednesday morning. The use of force will also be investigated; that is standard for these type of cases.
WFTV
