The Sheriff's office came to Sylvester's home as a result of a 911 call that described him as a man with a history of psychological problems who was “out of control”. The reporting party said that he or she and the other residents were scared and had left.
Sylvester's mother tells a different story [SOURCE].
Elaine Sylvester -- who said she witnessed Daniel Sylvester's exchange with deputies -- said the accounts by Del Norte Sheriff's Office officials in the local paper are not at all what she saw.
Elaine Sylvester says that Daniel Sylvester had mental health problems and that his medication had recently been changed. On June 22, he was acting frustrated, she said, and began yelling. Elaine Sylvester said that she and others in the house left, and that she tried to reach mental health workers, but the department was not open at 6:30 a.m.
Elaine said she called 911 and told the dispatcher that she was concerned for Daniel's well-being, but that he was not a threat to anyone else.
”I wasn't at any time afraid he was going to hurt me,” Elaine Sylvester said. “I just wanted someone to calm him down.”
Elaine Sylvester said she met the responding officers down the street and reiterated the message, and said there was no one else in the home. When the deputies got to the house, Daniel Sylvester was in the front yard near the door, she said. When officers tried to talk with him, Elaine Sylvester said, her son said they were scaring him and to go away. He backed into the house and tried to close the door, Elaine Sylvester said, and the officers followed him inside, where they began to taser him. For hours she didn't know whether her son was dead or alive, she said.
It seems that the police used poor judgement. The young man was not armed. He was not in attack mode ... he seems to have been retreating back to his home. Was it really necessary for this pre-judicial electrocution by the unidentified police officers?
Please let our blog know if you have any additional insights or information to share on this taser-related death.
7 comments:
It was not mentioned that the two officers were badly beaten by Mr. Sylvester . In which both deputies were hospitalized .
Jason - Can you clarify ... did they go to the hospital for scratches and stuff ... or were they admitted overnight for more serious injuries...
I am elaine sylvester, the mother of the unarmed 35 year old that died after he was tased by two sheriffs. Once in the cheek and once in the right nipple. In Crescent City
The two sheriffs were treated and released. My son, Daniel Sylvester, left the hospital to go to the local mortuary. Where he was sent out of town for an autopsy, to determine the "cause of death" . They did not put on his death certifcate that he was tased to death, or that the taser had anything to do with his death. I was told it had to be something else: People don't die from being tased.
Mrs. Sylvester - Please accept our prayers and sympathy for your loss. I hope that the police are held accountable for their actions.
I saw this comment on another blog --> "I am the mother of Daniel Sylvester, 35 from Crescent City. He was white. He was also schizophrenic, and had recently had his medication changed. The new medication was not working he was yelling. I called 911 for mental health help. If I had any idea the two sheriffs would have come and used a taser on my son, and him die as a result I would never have called 911. People need to be aware that if they want mental health help, the people responding could use a taser on your family member. I miss my son so much!"
Thank you so much for your comforting words.
I miss him so much.
With sincere appreciation,
Elaine Sylvester
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