A man who says he contacted the Marion County Sheriff’s Office during a mental health emergency to potentially “Baker Act” himself has filed a lawsuit against the agency, alleging responding deputies broke his back, damaged his spine, and left him permanently disabled after tasing and arresting him.
Attorneys representing Ernest Morris filed the lawsuit against Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods and MCSO detective Zachary Elliott on July 23.
According to the complaint, on March 17, 2024, Elliott was “experiencing a mental health crisis. Emergency services were contacted with “the expectation that [Morris] would receive medical evaluation and assistance, potentially under the provisions of the Baker Act.”…