Officials: Deputies shoot and kill psychiatric patient

The psychiatric patient was in a violent, threatening mood, armed with a sharp piece of glass in the moments before three deputies took aim, fired and killed him at the hospital, authorities said.

Jarvis Randall died a little before midnight Saturday. He had been a patient at University Hospital and Medical Center’s behavioral health center in Tamarac.

The 30-year-old convicted felon was on mentalhealth probation for burglary charges dating back a decade. When a Broward Circuit Court judge signed Randall’s probation order on Feb. 27, he designated Randall as a “violent offender of special concern,” records show.

In handwriting, however, Judge Ernest Kollra noted Randall “DOES NOT pose a danger,” court documents show.

Randall’s fiveyear probation sentence was scheduled to expire in 2023.

It was not immediately clear how and when Randall checked into the 60-bed psychiatric hospital at 74425 N. University Drive. Staff there summoned Broward Sheriff’s deputies about 10:30 p.m. Saturday.

“They described him as violent and said he was threatening to harm other people with a weapon,” said Veda ColemanWright, a spokeswoman for the Broward Sheriff’s Office. “Investigators said he was armed with an edged-glass weapon.”

Efforts to calm Randall were unsuccessful, she said. One deputy shot him with a bean bag but that failed to subdue him. Randall instead charged at the deputies. Three of them pulled their triggers, ColemanWright said.

Rescuers flew Randall in a sheriff’s helicopter to Broward Health North in Deerfield Beach. He died shortly before midnight, ColemanWright said. The three deputies are on restricted duty while the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigates.

Records show Randall was born in Fort Lauderdale and had an address in Margate. He had been allowed to transfer his probation to Gwinnett County, Ga., court records show.

Efforts to reach relatives on Sunday evening were unsuccessful.

Randall’s legal troubles began in September 2007 when he was arrested by the Broward Sheriff’s Office and charged with more than two dozen burglary and grand theft charges.

He pleaded no contest and was sent to a state prison to serve a 10-year sentence. He was released in August 2016 with five years of probation to serve, according to the state Department of Corrections.

Within five months, Randall violated his probation by smoking marijuana and refusing to submit to a urinalysis, court documents show.

It was when Randall went to court in Fort Lauderdale to admit to his violation on Feb. 27 that the judge put him on another five years of probation. It was set to expire Feb. 26, 2023.

Randall