Joseph Gazzola
Joseph Gazzola, 54, died on May 19, 2017, after he cut his own throat with a small razor in front of deputies and other people held at a Polk County, Florida jail. The sheriff's office said the razor was hidden in his groin and got past four security checkpoints, and that deputies pepper-sprayed him and told him to stop. He was taken to Lake Wales Medical Center, where he died about an hour later. His son, Richard Gazzola, said his father had called the jail to report that he was suicidal and that deputies checked on him shortly before the incident, and he said the fight with an officer had badly affected his father. The department and the State Attorney's Office are investigating.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide (disputed; neglect alleged). The Polk County Sheriff's Office says Gazzola cut his own throat with a razor it says was hidden in his groin and got past four security checkpoints; his son says he called the jail to report that his father was suicidal and that deputies checked on him shortly before the incident.
Reported by: Polk County Sheriff's Office spokesman Michelle Cash (the agency that held him); his son.