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Daughter of man shot by officers is speaking out
The daughter of an Altamonte Springs man who was shot and killed by police after walking door to door with a rifle tells FOX 35 his death could've been prevented.
The daughter of a man shot and killed by an Altamonte Springs Police officer is speaking out. Victoria Davis said she understands her father put the neighborhood in a frightening situation, but believes it could have been prevented.
Altamonte Springs police received a 911 call from a resident on Tuesday stating that her neighbor was walking around with a rifle.
When police officers responded, the department said that Eric Seckington, 65, did not listen to commands to put the gun down. Police say he moved the gun which is what caused the officer to shoot and kill him, the department adds Seckington did not point the gun at the officer.
It wasn't the first time officers had responded. According to police, there had been 40 calls for service involving Seckington. He had also been Baker-Acted before.
"I would imagine 40 phone calls of erratic behavior is something that I think any rational person could look at and say, this man needs help beyond what, he's able to provide for himself," said Davis.
According to police, Seckington had a history of mental health issues and frequently acted erratically. A community engagement officer met with him two weeks before the shooting where it was recommended he get inpatient care at North Tampa Behavioral Health.
Davis said she and her grandmother tried to get information from the hospital, but couldn't because of HIPAA laws. She wishes she could have done more to help her father.
"From our family's perspective, we got a call that he was taken to a mental health facility and the next call that we got was from a police officer telling us that he's dead," said Davis. "Your mother shouldn't have to bury her son when she's trying to help. No daughter should have to bury their father when they're trying to help."
Davis said she and several other family members have tried to help him. They wanted to obtain the right to have control over his decisions or even get information about what medication he should be taking so they could monitor it, but say they consistently hit dead ends.
"It's heartbreaking to see somebody that was so charming and so loving and caring deteriorate mentally," said Davis. "You can't help them and when you try to help them, you're just met with brick walls and they say, he has to sign for you to be able to have access to anything. Well, he's not."
Attorney Christine Lomas said her family is far from alone in feeling helpless. She said guardianship or conservatorship is usually for someone with memory loss, like dementia, so people with mental health issues typically fall into a grey area.
"We all have rights, and unless there's good cause to be shown to remove those rights and there's a whole process in doing that, we maintain our rights," said Christine Lomas with LomasLaw P.A.
"Sometimes there's nothing anybody can do. If a person is determined to not be incapacitated, that's where that journey is going to end." she continued.
The family would also like to know why there wasn't a mental health counselor who responded, especially given Seckington's history.
The police department said because he had a gun and was a threat to the neighborhood, it escalated the situation and they didn't have time to get a community engagement officer there. However, they say half of the department has some kind of mental health training.