Mentally-ill man dies after Ohio deputy uses takedown hold in jail

    

David Dehmann, 33, died last week at the Grant Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio. Dehmann, who suffers from several conditions (Asperger's Syndrome, Tourette's Syndrome and autism), was seriously injured by a deputy at the Knox County Jail in Mount Vernon, Ohio, on April 21.

Dehmann was taken into custody for alleged public intoxication, transported to a hospital, then released, but arrested a second time for alleged persistent disorderly conduct (video below).

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The state's Bureau of Criminal Investigation's Special Investigation Unit is now investigating the incident, noted Mount Vernon News.

According to the Knox County Sheriff's Office:

While Dehmann was in the jail's intake area he became aggressive with the jail staff making an aggressive move towards Deputy [Chase] Wright. Mr. Dehmann did attempt to hit Dep. Wright in the face, causing Dep. Wright to place Mr. Dehmann into a takedown hold, taking him to the ground to get control of him. Once control was gained, it was found that Mr. Dehmann had hit his head on the floor during the incident. Mr. Dehmann was transported to KCH ER by Mount Vernon medics for a medical evaluation.

Dehmann died just after midnight last Wednesday, notes KnoxPages.com.

Dehmann's father, also named David, told 10TV, "My son, my only son again, you know, that's hard. I don't know what happened to him other than he got his head hit going down in the takedown whatever. I'm not happy over it a bit, man. It's rocked my world." Dehmann's step-mother, Melissa, added, "He might have had his issues in the past and everything, but he didn't deserve to die because of this."

Dehmann's family says that the young man and his conditions were known by local law enforcement. Dehmann's dad later stated, "I'd like to know, I want to know what happened when my boy's head hit that concrete. You know, I want to know what happened."

The answer could be held on a surveillance video of the incident, but Jill Del Greco, of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, says the video cannot be released publicly because it is part of an investigation.