VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Volusia County deputies responded to the home of a man with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder multiple times before shooting him Sunday when he ran at law enforcement officers while holding two knives, according to the sheriff.
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood on Monday shared details and released body camera video of the deputy-involved shooting.
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Deputies responded to Lakeshore Drive in New Smyrna Beach after receiving a call that the man, identified as 43-year-old Michael Collmar, was having an “erratic mental health episode.” When deputies arrived, Collmar had two knives — one in each hand — and would not put them down when asked, video shows.
Deputies are heard saying several times, “Nobody wants to hurt you.”
The body camera video then shows Collmar picking up a chair at one point to block Tasers being deployed by deputies, according to Chitwood. He also used the chair to push deputies away from the doorway and shut the door, video shows.
Deputies later moved around the home and helped an older man get away from the area when Collmar was shown running out the front door holding the knives. He was shot by a deputy and taken to the hospital, where he underwent surgery and was in stable condition, according to officials.
“When he came through that door, at that speed he came through the door, all bets are off. He’s armed with two knives and there’s nowhere to go,” Chitwood said during the news conference.
This marked the sixth time deputies were called to the home and the second call in the last three weeks, according to the sheriff’s office. One of the previous calls included an incident on Jan. 17 when Collmar armed himself with knives and his mother called authorities, saying he was paranoid and possibly hallucinating.
Chitwood said due to the number of times deputies were called to the home and him being ineligible to be Baker Acted, the sheriff’s office recommended the family file an ex parte order to get him the help he needed.
“The guy’s off the rails and, unfortunately, even when they were out there on the 17th, he refused to talk to his mental health worker...” Chitwood said. “I don’t know what more we could have done.”
The sheriff also said Collmar was previously arrested after stabbing a Port Orange man multiple times in July 2017. He was released in October 2022.
“I’m very proud of everything that we did and I think when you look at the sergeant, the way he ran that scene, you know, don’t go in, don’t do this, don’t do that, shift this way, shift that way, get the resources on scene. That’s what we train to do,” Chitwood said.
In Sunday’s incident, Chitwood said he faces charges of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, false imprisonment and battery on a law enforcement officer. He is also facing a charge of violation of probation.
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