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Orange County inmate dies two days after arrest – WFTV

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – The Orange County Sheriff’s Office is investigating how an inmate died in custody.

It happened after an incident with correctional officers on Saturday night at the Orange County Jail – just two days after the arrest of 37-year-old Jean Caleb Joseph.

In both the incident that led to his arrest and the one that led to his death, authorities described Joseph as someone who acted “erratically” and may have suffered from mental health issues.

On Saturday, staff said, Joseph was talking incoherently and throwing water on his cellmate. Correctional staff tried to move him to a cell for psychological observation, but staff say he began self-harming.

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Staff reportedly used “various defensive tactics” to prevent him from harming himself or others.

After detaining him, staff discovered that Joseph had several injuries that they believed were self-inflicted.

He died in hospital later that day.

9 The investigation revealed that authorities had witnessed another possible mental seizure just 48 hours earlier.

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This incident landed him in the Orange County Jail, where he was charged with assault on a police officer, resisting an officer and disorderly conduct.

Orlando police responded to a MetroWest apartment complex Thursday night. According to arrest records, officers found Joseph pouring water over his head and his clothes were soaked.

Previously, Joseph was reportedly aggressive and threw water at residents.

The report describes his sudden change in behavior toward officers. Officers said Joseph fell to his knees and began screaming as they tried to get him to move away from a glass bottle. The report also says he repeatedly assumed a boxer’s stance and raised his fists at them throughout the incident.

At one point, officers said they were afraid he would harm a family member, so they tried to detain him.

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The incident ended with an officer deploying a taser and “accidentally striking” Joseph due to his “uncontrollable movements.”

“It was clear that the gentleman was having a mental episode,” said Randy Nelson, who has been trained as a police officer for the past 30 years.

Nelson pointed to two cases in which officers reported Joseph as showing signs of mental health problems.

The report states: “It is noted that Joseph showed signs of psychological problems due to his unusual behavior, unusual statements and sudden, erratic changes in his emotional state.”

“This raises several questions. First, could one have chosen to commit the Baker Act as a gentleman?” Nelson said.

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Eyewitness News asked Orlando police on Monday if Joseph was ever subject to the Baker Act. The agency did not provide any information in its response to us. The agency did note, however, that he was cleared by the fire department before being taken to jail.

Eyewitness News is currently trying to answer several questions, including whether there was ever an attempt to treat Joseph under the Baker Act and why he was not immediately placed in an observation cell.

We also do not yet know what defensive tactics the personnel used.

The coroner is still working to determine Joseph’s cause of death.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office is also investigating the incident.

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