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“It’s just so over the top”: Family of Ocala man shot by police calls for crisis intervention training

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A 23-year-old man shot by an Ocala police officer remains in intensive care. David LaPerriere’s family said he has undergone five surgeries since the May 19 shooting.Related: Mental health experts speak out about man in crisis shot by Ocala police”We wake up crying every morning and cry all day,” said Jeannine LaPerriere, David’s mother.”To shoot a kid, he didn’t rob a bank. They didn’t stalk him. He was a mentally ill kid,” she said. LaPerriere’s mother told WESH 2 that doctors diagnosed him with schizophrenia when he was 18. “He was taking college courses in high school. That’s how smart he was. And then one day he realized he was acting weird and stuff. We took him to the doctor. Shortly afterward, they diagnosed him with catatonic schizophrenia,” LaPerriere said. Before the shooting, they took him to a psychiatric hospital on 27th Avenue to help him. The night before, his family said, he had been crying and very depressed. “Sometimes he would scream. I asked him how he was feeling and he wouldn’t answer. He was just, you know, very upset. But you know, he wasn’t acting erratic, just sad. Very sad. He needed his antipsychotic and I had texted his doctor that morning and she said, fine, take him to The Vines,” LaPerriere said. LaPerriere’s mother said he went to The Vines voluntarily. But when medical staff at the hospital asked him to empty his pockets, he left the hospital and ran about two miles down the road. His family was there when he ran away. They said they immediately called the police. The family says Laperriere had bear spray and a knife, which his family said he carried because they lived in an RV park. “He was scared. He had that fear. And I guess that gave him a sense of security. But that wasn’t a big knife. It was a pocket knife from Amazon,” his mother said. Ocala police said they didn’t know he had a knife, but the family said they told an officer who showed up at The Vines. After spending about five minutes trying to get him to drop the knife using non-lethal means, body camera video shows LaPerriere spraying the officers and then running toward the officer, identified as Sergeant Young. He shot LaPerriere multiple times. “He was shot through the lungs, through the stomach, through the kidneys, three times in the head. His face is all shattered. We can’t understand this at all. We’re still numb. We don’t know how something like this could have even happened,” his mother said. LaPerriere’s family said doctors wired his jaw shut for the next eight weeks. They said medical staff in the intensive care unit confirmed how many times he was shot. “I said was my son shot once or twice. And she said he was shot eight times. And that’s when I lost it. I thought eight times is too many for a 150-pound boy. Even if he makes it through this, what is it going to be like after all this damage to his body? He’s only 23 years old,” LaPerriere said. As he continues his long road to recovery, the family is asking for help. They are demanding that Ocala police receive crisis intervention training so something like this doesn’t happen again. “I was never afraid of my son. Nobody was afraid of him. He just had the biggest heart. They need to put together a crisis team and they need to put it together immediately,” she said. On Tuesday, WESH 2 contacted Ocala police to view the body camera video. We also asked if the department plans to conduct crisis intervention training. In a statement, the press secretary said, “The body-worn video segment we shared is all we are releasing at this time as the investigation is ongoing. Once the FDLE’s investigation is complete, all footage will be available. Thank you for your understanding. The individual is in stable condition in the hospital.” During our first interview last week, we asked Deputy Chief Lou Biondi the same question. “The chief and I, as well as the former mayor, addressed this at the time, and when the chief is back in town, we will certainly talk about it again,” Biondi said. Lapierrere faces assault charges after his release from the hospital. The sergeant who shot him is on paid leave while the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigates.

OCALA, Florida —

A 23-year-old man who was shot by a police officer in Ocala is still in intensive care.

David LaPerriere’s family said he has undergone five surgeries since the May 19 shooting.

Related: Mental health experts weigh in on Ocala police shooting of man in crisis

“We wake up crying every morning and cry all day,” said Jeannine LaPerriere, David’s mother.

“He didn’t rob a bank to shoot a child. They didn’t chase him. He was a mentally ill child,” she said.

LaPerriere’s mother told WESH 2 that two doctors diagnosed him with schizophrenia when he was 18.

“He was taking college courses in high school. That’s how smart he was. And then one day he realized he was acting weird and stuff. We took him to the doctor. And shortly after that they diagnosed him with catatonic schizophrenia,” LaPerriere said.

Before the shooting, they took him to a psychiatric hospital on 27th Avenue to help him. The night before, his family said, he had been crying and very depressed.

“Sometimes he would cry out. I asked him how he was feeling and he wouldn’t answer. He was just, you know, very upset. But you know, he wasn’t acting erratically, he was just sad. Very sad. He needed his antipsychotic and I had texted his doctor that morning and she said, fine, take him to Vines,” LaPerriere said.

LaPerriere’s mother said he went to The Vines voluntarily. But when medical staff at the clinic asked him to empty his pockets, he left the clinic and ran about two miles down the road. His family was there when he ran away. They said they immediately called police. The family says Laperriere had bear spray and a knife on him, which his family said he carried because they lived in an RV park.

“He was scared. He had this fear. And I guess that gave him a sense of security. But it wasn’t a big knife. It was a pocket knife from Amazon,” his mother said.

Ocala police said they did not know he had a knife, but the family said they told an officer when he showed up at The Vines.

After about five minutes of attempting to use non-lethal means to get him to drop the knife, body camera video shows LaPerriere spraying the officers and then running toward the officer, identified as Sergeant Young. He shot LaPerriere multiple times.

“He was shot through the lungs, through the stomach, through the kidneys, three times in the head. His face is completely shattered. We can’t understand it at all. We are still numb. We don’t know how something like this could have happened,” said his mother.

LaPerriere’s family said doctors wired his jaw shut for the next eight weeks. They said medical staff in the intensive care unit confirmed how many times he was shot.

“I asked if my son had been shot once or twice. And she said he had been shot eight times. I freaked out. I thought eight times is too much for a 150-pound boy. Even if he makes it through this, what will it be like after all the damage to his body? He’s only 23 years old,” LaPerriere said.

As he continues his long road to recovery, the family is pleading for help, demanding that the Ocala Police Department receive crisis intervention training so something like this doesn’t happen again.

“I was never afraid of my son. No one was afraid. He just had the biggest heart. They need to put together a crisis team, and they need to do it immediately,” she said.

On Tuesday, WESH 2 contacted Ocala police to view the body camera video. We also asked if the department plans to offer crisis intervention training.

In a statement, the spokesperson said: “The body-worn video clip we shared is all we are releasing at this time as the investigation is ongoing. Once the FDLE investigation is complete, all footage will be made available. Thank you for your understanding. The suspect is in stable condition at the hospital.”

In our first interview last week, we asked Vice President Lou Biondi the same question.

“The chief and I and the former mayor talked about it then, and when the chief is back in town we will certainly talk about it again,” Biondi said.

Lapierrere will face assault charges after his release from the hospital. The sergeant who shot him is on paid leave while the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigates.

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