Houston, TX - Satan told him to Steal A Police Car, Which He Did - Tasered - Dies in Custody
By STEVE MCVICKER
2007 Houston Chronicle
Daryl Dwayne Kelley heard voices. They told him that he and the people around
him were possessed by Satan. They told him to steal a police car, which he did.
He was arrested for the crime at a private mental health facility and
taken to the Harris County Jail, where he would later be shocked several times
with a Taser and die.
But despite Kelley's well-documented history of mental problems, he was not
assigned to a mental health bed. The jail's inmate-classification personnel
concluded that Kelley was "emotionally stable" with "no indicators of mental
illness."
He was, however, prescribed 10 milligrams of Zyprexa, used to treat
schizophrenia, to be taken every evening. Kelley's sister, Shirley Roberson was
concerned he was not receiving the medication.
"I went down there (to the jail) to talk to them about his medication, but they
didn't pay any attention to me," Roberson said.
Jail reports indicate that Kelley refused to take it. Either way, Kelley,
according to jail records, began getting "aggressive" and "confused" and was
transferred to the mental health ward, where he erupted into a psychotic fury.
As they attempted to restrain him, deputies Tasered Kelley seven times in just
over 20 minutes. He was administered an unknown sedative by a jail nurse,
records show. A few minutes later, he was dead.
The Harris County Medical Examiner's Office ruled the death "natural" as a
result of "psychotic delirium" related to hypertensive cardiovascular disease.
But it also noted abrasions and bruises on his face, head, neck, left hip, arms,
wrists, hands, ankles and chest.
Inmates claim he was also beaten.
Sheriff Tommy Thomas declined to elaborate on the case because of a possible
lawsuit but noted that medical staffers were present as Kelley was Tasered.