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Sheriff: Autistic man was holding knife before deputies Tased him
New video shows an autistic man holding what the Brevard County Sheriff says is a knife. This is before the man was tased by deputies. The sheriff is now defending his deputies actions.
BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. - The Brevard County Sheriff is defending his deputies after Tasing a man with autism who he said was holding a knife at the time.
Sheriff Wayne Ivey said new video shows the man – Jaquez Johnson – holding what he said is a knife. Deputies said they approached Johnson after getting reports of a man with a knife trying to break into a home with children inside.
In the dash cam video, deputies shine a light on Johnson and command him to drop the knife before approaching and Tasing him.
In a recently released video, Sheriff Ivey said his deputies did nothing wrong.
"I could not be more proud of our deputies, as they did it exactly right. They followed their training and their protocol."
RELATED: Mother demands answers after Taser was used by deputies on son with autism
Initially it was reported that no weapon was found. That was based on the report FOX 35 obtained from the sheriff’s office, which specifically said deputies weren’t able to locate a knife at the scene while a crowd was forming.
That same report also says deputies didn't find a knife on Johnson. His mother described her son as kind, and someone everyone knows in the community. She said the taser was unnecessary.
"He's afraid of the police officers now," Tiffany Johnson said. "When he sees a patrol car he just goes in his room and stays there until they're gone."
Tiffany Johnson told FOX 35 she did file a complaint with the sheriff’s office. Sheriff Ivey said both deputies have advanced mental health training and didn’t break with it during that incident.