According to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, a man from Florida who was hoping to obtain a free ride to Tampa was detained after he contacted 911 and made up a story about having suicide thoughts to get Baker to act.
When a deputy was sent to the Dollar General shop on Palmetto Street in Poinciana on Tuesday, things started to happen. According to Sheriff Judd, the deputy was responding to a call from a man who claimed to be having suicide thoughts and had called 911.
Harris eventually acknowledged lying to the deputy about having suicide thoughts because he wanted a place to stay the night. Harris expressed his dissatisfaction with his present Poinciana house.
In order to persuade Baker to act and spend a few days in a mental hospital, Harris devised a scheme to contact 911 and report that he was having suicidal thoughts. His mom no longer wanted to drive from there to pick him up, so once he was free, he intended to use their resources to arrange transportation to get him to Tampa, according to deputies.
Harris was detained on one charge of abusing the 911 system.
What is the Baker Act?
Under the Baker Act, people in Florida who require immediate mental health assistance can get them. The law permits friends and family to get their loved ones immediate mental health treatment. It ought to be applied only in the final stages of trying every other therapeutic strategy.
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Judges, physicians, and mental health specialists are permitted by law to determine whether to commit a patient to an institution for assessment. A person may be detained for up to 72 hours so that medical personnel have enough time to assess the person and their condition.
In order to make use of the Baker Act, several requirements must be fulfilled.
A person must meet certain requirements in order to be considered mentally ill: they must be unable to take care of themselves, be dangerous to themselves or others, refuse to cooperate willingly in a mental health evaluation or think they do not need one.
Additionally, using the Baker Act’s resources freely allows one to use the services offered to others.
