John “LJ” Scott Jr. dragged him across the police station floor on video before he was admitted to the hospital.
May 1, 2025 12:59 PM PDT | May 1, 2025 1:41 PM PDT
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The death of John “LJ” Scott Jr. is causing rage… A new video of his arrest appears to show police dragging him to the ground at the police station.
If you don’t know…Scott passed away about a week after being taken into custody by Alabama Decatur Police on April 22nd, April 15th.
Police arrived at the apartment on April 15, where Scott said he “sweats and shows unstable behavior.”
Play video content4/15/2025 Decatur Police Station
According to NBC News, the officers were responding to a 911 call from Scott’s mother. Bodycam footage shows officers failing to try and get Scott to be wrapped in an ambulance before the officer says that Scott has become “combat.”
The footage shows the officers finally wrestling him on the ground, and with the help of Taser – taking him to prison… Video from inside the station shows Scott lying on the ground, surrounded by police.
It’s hard to see him…but you can see how what appears to be his blue shirt looks like through the cracks in the assembled crowd – and he appears to be dragged from the frame across the floor.
Civil rights attorney S. Lee Merritt, a lawyer for Scott’s family, says that shortly after the video was filmed, Scott was in a medical emergency and rushed to the hospital where he finally passed.
The family is said to think LJ is not resisting the officers, but instead they are unresponsive and perhaps even unconscious, desperately needing medical attention.
Merritt says instead of helping him, the officer dragged him into a prison cell with his feet, leaving him without medical care. He added that this is a “violation of LJ’s constitutional and human rights” … and he demands accountability.
DPD admits that it played a factor in the event that “a medical and mental health struggle exacerbated by suspected drug-induced psychosis”… While his family remains in the trouble, it is purely a mental health episode, and officers say the situation should be handled differently.
Decatur Police Chief Nadis E. Carlisle said Scott was “putted in solitary cell by staff at the Morgan County Jail after some difficulty due to size and passive resistance.” It is unclear what they mean by “passive resistance.”
We contacted the Decatur Police Department about this new video… No words so far.
