Marvin Scott death in Texas jail ruled homicide by medical examiner

The death of a 26-year-old Black man in custody at a Texas jail has been ruled a homicide.

The death of a 26-year-old Black man in custody at a Texas jail has been ruled a homicide. Marvin Scott III, of Frisco, Texas, was arrested on a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge by police in Allen, a suburb of northern Dallas, on March 14. The officers first took Scott to a local hospital because he was reportedly acting erratically. He was subsequently released and transported to the Collin County Jail in McKinney, northeast of Allen, where he began "exhibiting some strange behavior," Collin County Sheriff Jim Skinner said at a press conference on March 19. Detention officers restrained Scott to a bed, pepper-sprayed him and covered his face with a split mask. Scott was kept there for several hours and became unresponsive at some point. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital, according to Skinner, who called the incident "a profound tragedy." "I'm not here to make excuses for anyone," Skinner told reporters. "People are upset, the family is upset, the community is upset, I'm upset."