Man Ran From St. Joe's Hospital, Tasered By Joliet Police After 'Mental Health Episode': Cops

JOLIET, IL — Amarian Blackmon, a 22-year-old Joliet man from the 600 block of North Center Street, was let out of the Will County Jail on Friday afternoon, three days after Joliet police arrested him on four counts of aggravated battery to a police officer, five counts of resisting arrest and criminal damage to property.

According to Joliet police, the circumstances leading to Blackmon's arrest involved a Taser deployment by the department and go back to the morning of Nov. 5.

At 10:34 a.m., officers responded to an apartment building in the 600 block of North Center Street to assist the Joliet Fire Department with someone having a mental health episode. Officers made contact with Blackmon and police say his behavior escalated as he became increasingly erratic and physically agitated, the arrest report showed.

Joliet's Fire Department advised that after consulting with medical staff at Saint Joseph Medical Center, Blackmon was required to be taken for a mental health evaluation. At that point, Blackmon struck and kicked multiple officers while they tried to secure him for his ambulance transport to the hospital, police spokesman Dwayne English said.

"Blackmon was secured and transported to St Joseph Medical Center," English said.

The following morning, at 5:59 a.m. Nov. 6, Joliet's officers responded to St. Joe's hospital after Blackmon ran from the hospital while hospital staff were trying to transport him to an outside mental health facility, the arrest report alleges.

Officers found Blackmon in the 300 block of Marble Street a short time later, and police say he refused commands and ran from the officers. He was placed into custody following a Taser deployment, Joliet police said.

Eventually, Blackmon was taken via private ambulance to a mental health facility in the western suburbs of Chicago. Following his release from the mental health facility this week, Blackmon was transported by the officers to the Joliet Police Department, where he was processed and transferred to the Will County Adult Detention Facility.

Blackmon stayed in the jail Wednesday through Friday afternoon, when he was released, the jail logs show.