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Super Dave's death highlights gaps in care for homeless, mentally ill

Knoxville News-Sentinel
Feb 03, 2017

Feb. 03--For the hundreds of times David Eugene "Super Dave" Martin was arrested since 1997, there were dozens of attempts by Knoxville police officers to get him the help he needed in lieu of another trip to jail, authorities said.

Martin's last arrest, his 276th, was Jan. 20 when he was picked up at the Heiskell Avenue off-ramp from Interstate 275 during a police sweep of aggressive panhandlers. Eight days later, the 39-year-old Knoxville native was killed along I-275 South near the same exit when he stepped in front of an oncoming car.

Homeless and suffering from severe mental health issues, Martin prompted near-daily run-ins with the law. They involved repeated reports that he was intoxicated, blocking traffic at intersections, accosting customers at restaurant drive-thru windows and begging for money.

Other encounters were more violent. His criminal history includes numerous charges of aggravated assault and resisting arrest.

Family members remembered Martin as a kind, but troubled soul who refused loved ones' attempts to help as his psychiatric problems took hold. And they questioned whether authorities could have done something more for him.

"I don't understand why the system couldn't -- I mean, you could look at him and talk to him and tell something was wrong," said Sherron Lane, mother of Martin's two daughters. "A person keeps going to jail like that, they should have been able to determine something wasn't right with him and put him up."

Knoxville Police Chief David Rausch shared in the family's frustration. As a patrol officer, Rausch remembered encounters with Martin, and as chief, he fielded pleas from Lonsdale residents who reached out for help on Martin's behalf.

"We tried all kinds of things to help him," Rausch said. "Not every encounter ended in an arrest. ... Almost all those arrests were situations where there were no other options.

"When there's limited resources, you use the resources you have."

'SUPER DAVE'

As a child in Lonsdale, Martin was a natural athlete.

"He was unbelievably fast," said his older cousin, Roger Whiteside. "They started calling him 'Super' when he got into sports because he was so good."

Martin hit an early growth spurt and could dunk a basketball by the time he reached middle school. He made the varsity football team as a freshman at Central High School. He later had a stint playing semi-professional football for the now-defunct Knoxville Crusaders.

"With the proper guidance, David Martin could have easily played Division I football or basketball," said Germany Dixson, who grew up with Martin in Lonsdale and played two years of college football in Jackson, Tenn.

Martin became a father while still a teen, but proved to be a loving dad and a good provider, working for several years at National Linen Services on Western Avenue, Lane said.

"I loved him. I still love him. He was a great person, he was," she said. "He was a darn good father before, you know, before his mental issues happened."

Lane and Martin separated around 2003. In the ensuing years, his troubles with police increased as it became apparent something was wrong, she said.

"He would talk to himself, you know. It just wasn't him," Lane said. "He was not the same. He didn't come around me that much because he knew I used to always get onto him and try to force him to get some help. A lot of times, he would hide from me. He didn't want me to see him like that."

In November 2004, Martin was sentenced to a three-year prison term on an aggravated assault conviction, according to court records.

Lane said during his incarceration, Martin was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

"He should have agreed to get some help," she said. "Everybody offered to take him -- his family, his daughters, his sisters. We tried to get him some help, but I guess the law here, they told me that if he doesn't want to get treatment himself, there's nothing they can do."

LONG-TERM NEEDS, TEMPORARY OPTIONS

Helen Ross McNabb operates a stabilization unit in Knox County that provides psychiatric patients needed medication and treatment for up to three days, and a holistic plan for further treatment upon discharge.

It is a valuable resource for local law enforcement seeking an alternative to jail or the emergency room for a person suffering a psychotic crisis, said Candace Allen, Helen Ross McNabb's senior director of adult intensive mental health services.

The 15-bed facility, however, is one of the busiest in the Tennessee.

"We're usually full," Allen said.

The nonprofit behavioral health agency also contracts with the Knox County Sheriff's Office to staff social workers and a psychiatrist at the county detention facility, who can provide immediate treatment to inmates and referrals to services once they are released.

"As always, people have the option to refuse our services," Allen said. "And because of their illness, they don't always know how ill they are. And you can't make them receive services."

In his opinion, Rausch said Martin should have been "institutionalized."

"When he was on his meds, he was fine," the chief said. "But he often refused to take his meds."

It could not be confirmed whether Martin had ever been committed to any facility.

Involuntary psychiatric commitment to a facility such as Peninsula Hospital in Blount County can be another avenue, if only a temporary one, Allen said. And again, she stressed, whether such an option proves helpful can largely depend on "whether you're going to follow up on those appointments once you're released."

Institutionalization, however, hasn't been an option for decades as Tennessee and other states have cut funding for long-term, in-patient care in favor of community-based treatment by contracted providers. The state-funded Lakeshore Mental Health Institute in West Knoxville, for instance, closed in 2012.

"People thrive and do better if they are in their communities, in their homes," Allen said. "Are there gaps in the system? I'm sure."

Allen and Rausch agreed that Martin's situation underscores the need for Knox County's planned Behavioral Health Urgent Care Center, otherwise known as the Safety Center, which would expand local capabilities to provide stabilization and front-line treatment for people with mental illness who otherwise would end up in jail.

"Could it have changed Dave? I don't know," Rausch said. "But it would have been an option."

The city of Knoxville and Knox County have each allocated $200,000 toward the construction of the diversion facility in their current budgets. And Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett has committed an additional $1 million toward the capital costs.

A push for state funding for the center failed in 2016. State Rep. Eddie Smith, R-Knoxville, and state Sen. Becky Duncan Massey, R-Knoxville, are working again this year to secure $4.5 million over three years toward the project.

According to the most recent Knoxville Homeless Management Information System annual report, released in 2016, more than 60 percent of the local homeless population have been treated for mental illness. Thirty-seven percent have been hospitalized due to mental illness.

"It's sad," Allen said. "There are other Daves out there."

A funeral service for Martin will be held at noon Saturday at Jarnigan & Son Mortuary. Burial will follow at Mt. Olive Cemetery.

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(c)2017 Knoxville News-Sentinel (Knoxville, Tenn.)

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