Justice For Matt

Matt has Williams Syndrome (slightly higher functioning than Down Syndrome) and has special needs. He also has a number of health conditions due to his condition and takes A LOT of medication to keep him healthy and functioning. Because of his needs, he has 24/7 care from a behavior management provider. One of his needs is restricted water intake. This is due to psychogenic polydipsia, which is a constant desperate need for water or soda if that's available. If not controlled, too much water leads to hypothermia, low sodium, which can lead to death. Recently, his need for water has gotten so great his caregivers were having a very difficult time trying to keep Matt from running away in search of water. He started taking pop from a convenience store. The caregivers would pay for it, but Matt was threatened if he were to return.

Fearing for Matt’s safety, when he tried this again on 1/19/25, Matt was taken to the hospital for help in hopes they would keep him and admit him to a behavioral unit to monitor his medications and get his behaviors under control. The hospital increased a medication but refused to keep him after that. He was sent home despite the caregiver's pleas to keep him there where he would be monitored and safe. After returning home, Matt's need for water continued and his agitation just increased. A supervisor was called in for assistance, but because they cannot legally restrain Matt, all they could do was try and block the door. Matt shoved the supervisor in an attempt to leave. She felt she had no other option but to call the police for assistance, afraid that if Matt left, he would be injured or worse.

The deputies were made aware of the situation and took Matt into custody for protection. They were made aware of Matt's condition, his special needs and guardians, his list of medications, and the fact that he could not have more than 8oz of water every hour. They agreed at that time to protect him and to shut off his water in his cell. Matt was booked in the early morning of 1/20/25. After the first day in jail, the sheriff's office stopped communicating with Matt’s caregiver and also stopped answering his guardian's questions. In fact, they failed to notify his guardians at all; that was done by Matt’s caregiver. On 1/22/25, one of Matt’s guardians called the jail and was told he was fine. By lunch, Matt had been taken to the hospital in serious condition and admitted to the critical care unit because his sodium levels were so low. His guardian (my aunt) was made aware of the hospitalization, not by the sheriff but by a social worker at the hospital asking questions about Matt having to do with his mental capacity and state.

On 1/23/25, guardians were made aware that Matt was being charged with felony assault on a health care worker. He is mentally a child and was only trying to get the water his body was telling him he so desperately needed. His care team is trained to deal with these kinds of behaviors; it is part of their job. Matt just needed more help than his in-home caregivers could provide at that time. He was in the hospital for 2 full days while doctors tried to get him stabilized. Matt was returned to jail late in the afternoon of 1/24/25. At that time, a competency exam was finally done, but because it was now late in the day on Friday afternoon, Matt had to stay in jail for another weekend. Both the hospital and the jail are responsible for neglect, and there needs to be justice for Matt. If Matt had been kept in the hospital for treatment that day, police never would have needed to be called.

Once they were called, Matt should have been provided the care he so desperately needed. Instead, the jail disregarded the fact that he is cognitively impaired, and they also disregarded his medical needs and the fact that he was there because he could not be controlled from seeking out something to drink. Water had to be restricted, or he could die. The jail told my aunt that “he got to water.” He was in the jail's custody! It was their responsibility to prevent that by shutting off the water to his cell, something they had agreed to do but did not. Also, Matt has guardians for a reason. He is not competent to make decisions or understand what is happening, yet they decided to charge him and have not ever contacted his guardians in this process. The sheriff was the only option for Matt's safety, and they failed miserably on every level.

Any and all help is Appreciated.

Thank you. #justiceformattman