Mental Health: Woman with mental illness wielding a shovel is killed by highly trained deputy – The Ledger

WAHNETA Jessica Hernandez, 14, was off from school for Veterans Day, sitting at her kitchen tableonarainy afternoonin Wahnetawhen she heard a man yelling Stop!Stop! Stop! and then heardthree or fourgunshots.

WhenHernandezlooked out the window, she sawa woman now identified as24-year-oldJessiramHweihRiveralying on the ground andPolk CountySheriffSgt. Sean Speakman running to his carto retrieve a medical aid kit.Deputies Hannah Ferguson and Daniel Villagran arrived as Speakman was running back downthe small dirtdrivewayoff ofRifle Range Roadto try to save the woman he had just shot.

Hernandez picked up her cellphone and videotaped a few seconds of Ferguson doing chest compressions onRivera as Villagransat ready togive mouth to mouth and Speakman called for paramedics and an ambulance.A shovel is seen lying atRiverasfeet.

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In just a few momentsthat afternoon, everything Speakman was trainedto doto help mentally ill peoplethroughout his17-yearlaw enforcementcareercollidedwith a woman whose family saysand documents showhas sought out, but also walked away from, help forahistory of bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, and drug abusefollowingthe death of her father in 2011.She also had at least one suicide attempt.

While Riveras family andsome in thepublicarenaare demanding to know why Speakman didnt use his taser or why he shot her, law enforcement experts are saying Speakman didwhat he was trained to do which includes protecting himself.

The Ledgerhas revieweddozens ofcourt documents related to Rivera,along with Speakmans personnel file, which is about 600 pages long. The documents show two very different people a woman who grabbed a knife and cut her mother during a heatedargument and a law enforcement officer who has commendations for saving lives, including people contemplating suicide.

Rivera was born June 11, 1997.In 2011, whenshewas 14 years old, her fatherwas killedand thats when her mother,JessicaHweih,saysher daughterbegan hanging out with the wrong people.

Two years later,at 16,she was charged in Osceola County with felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.Court records show that the case was labeled nodispositionspecified. In other words, it was dropped.

In 2015, court documents show that Rivera, then 18,had an ex-boyfriend, a baby, and a temper.

On Dec. 16,2015, the Osceola County Sheriffs Office responded toa domestic disturbance call.Riveras ex-boyfriendstated that thecouple had gotten into an argument at 2 a.m. when he returned to his home. Ashewas holding their daughter, Rivera hit him with an open hand, angry that he was seeing someone else.She told officers she was angry that he was out late every night and not spending time with their daughter. When Rivera tried to leave, her car got stuck and, when she put it in reverse, she backed into him, although he wasnt sure if she knew he was behind her car.He was nothurt.Theex-boyfriendcalledpoliceat 8:30 p.m. the next evening and Riverawas charged with simple battery.

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In2016, Rivera got into an argument with her mother, who repeatedly slapped Rivera to get her to stop acting out of control,according to a police report.Rivera ranpast the front door and into the kitchen, where she grabbeda knife.Her mother ran after her and tried to get the knife.

While she was trying to get the knife away fromJessiram, she was cut by her on the arm, the affidavit reads. Shortly after getting cut, the knife was removed fromJessiramshands andJessiramwas escorted out of the house to prevent them from fightinganyfurther.

Both women were arrested and Riverasyoungdaughterwas left with her stepfather, who had broken up the fightbetweenthetwo women.Riveras chargeof aggravated battery with a deadly weaponwasdropped by the state.

In2017,Rivera petitioned the courtin Osceola Countyfor child support fromher ex-boyfriend. That case continued incourt until two months ago, whenhewas ordered to pay Rivera.

That year, she was also charged by Kissimmee Police with felony battery on a law enforcement officer, for which she was convicted.

In February2018, she was charged with felony possession of cocaineand eventually convicted.

The next month,Riveras mother called911 to report that Rivera had tried to commit suicide.

A Winter Haven Police Officer arrived at the Haines Boulevard homeat 4:20 a.m., whereHweihwas waiting after Rivera texted her aunt and said she had drank a whole bottle of pillsto go to sleep and said goodbye. The officer found Rivera in bed and unresponsive.She did have a pulse and was breathing. The officer found a half empty bottle of EZ-Nite Sleep Aid, an empty bottle of hydrocodone, an opioid painkiller,that had 20 pills a few days before, and an empty bottle of Cephalexin, anantibiotic.

In my professional opinion, without proper treatment or care of a treatment facility,Jessarimwas likely to cause harm to herself or others, the officer wrote.The officer Baker Acted Rivera.A week later, the officer returned to the home to check on Rivera, per Crisis Intervention Training.

The mother told the officer that her daughter has been doing better since she was released from the hospital.She is on four different kinds of medication and Jessica has been helping to make sure she takes them.

In addition to the officer checking on Rivera, the hospital also called every few days, the mom told the officer.

Jessiramwas laying down at the time, the officer wrote.She didnt really want to talk, but simply advised she was fine.

She was found guilty on the cocaine charge and in September2018violated her paroleandrearrested. She was let out on conditional release.In 2018 and 2019, she was charged with violating probation in both Orange and Osceola counties andrearrested.

Her mother said Rivera went through several rounds of rehabto try to kick her drug habit.

Hweih, who is a native of Puerto Rico, said that one out-patient facilityin Kissimmeediscontinued treatment because Rivera missed threeappointments, a policy she found infuriatingbecause the mentally ill dont think or act like peoplein the general public.

One day,maybe she was depressed but shedon'twannatalk to nobodyor the other day,maybe she was sleeping until itwaslateor it wasdayssheforgetabout it,Hweihsaid. So she started missing appointments because sometimes she stayedupall night andthenshedidntwake up or she forgets, she was not in themoodbecause her mood swings.So now you have to look for another place for treatment all over again.

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In December 2019, Rivera walked away from a rehab facility in Avon Park.

"She walked out andshe gottoWahnetaand shehide inWahnetawith this guy for over two months-hide,completely hide,Hweihsaid.And me and my husband and my kids,we used to gohere2,3,4 o'clock in the morning.I went there with the sheriffthree times...I wentwith the sheriff who said,You need toleave.This place is bad.And I saidI'm not leaving without my daughter and we found her and I took her with me.

In May 2020, she had a new boyfriend.

That month,Rivera called her mother crying and asking the woman to come pick her up because her boyfriend was hitting her. Polk County Sheriffs Deputies arrived at the Dollar General on 3rdStreet E in Winter Haven, but couldnt find her.They calledthe boyfriend, who asked deputies to come to his automotive shop and talk to him.He said he and Rivera had gotten into an altercation and he asked her to leave. On May 1, Rivera was declared a missing person, but the next day shewas found at her home in Winter Haven.

Twenty-four days later, Rivera appears again in law enforcement reports, this time withher finalboyfriend.Thecouple were both arrestedon May 26, 2020,for possessionof meth.A jail booking sheet shows shewas held atTri-County Human Health, a provider of mental health and drug rehabilitation in Polk County.

Rivera became enraged ather boyfriendsix months laterin November2020. An arrest affidavit shows she pulled a knife on him because he wouldnt marry her.

He stated she said she would cut him, cut his throat,and his family if they called law enforcement, the affidavit states.He stated he became afraid she would harm his parents and called law enforcement.Hebelieved Rivera was seeing things because she began accusing him of injecting heroin into himself.He advised he has never used heroin.

The altercation happened inthe boyfriendsparents home.His mother told the responding deputy that she also thoughtRivera was seeing things and observed that Rivera had not eaten much in the days she had been with them.

Riveras mother described her to Ledger reporters as schizophrenic, which involves visual and/or auditory hallucinations.

Riverawas charged with felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, but the State Attorneys Office dropped the charges becausethe boyfriendwould not cooperate with the prosecution.

In February 2021,Hweihsaid her daughter posted on Facebook that she had been raped by one of her boyfriends friendswhen she was passed out.Her boyfriend told herlaterwhat had happened to her.

And he didn't do anythingto stop it,her mother saidabout the boyfriend. He told the story what they did to her and she was so hurt and she posted on Facebook.

Hweihsaid in April or May, she got her daughter an apartment in Haines City, away fromthe boyfriends badinfluence. She said Rivera was four or five months pregnant when she set her up in a studiorental, furnished it and filled the refrigerator with food.

I said listenIm going to get anapartmentfor youand because you don't want to live with me, you know, because (of) the rules and stuff, but I want her close to me,so I canmonitor,Hweihsaid, adding that her daughter was basically homelessbeforethat point.She got so happyin thatlittle studioand she was,you know,doing well with this there every day.

And thenHweihsaid Riveras boyfriend found her and started showing up at the apartment.The couple got into fights loud enough that law enforcement had to be calledand the landlord told her she had to move out.Hweihtold Rivera that her boyfriend was trying to make her homelessagainand dependent on him.

At some point in 2021, Riveras mother said her daughter was turned away from a drug rehabilitation facilityin Avon Parkbecause she was pregnant. But she did not provide records to The Ledger to prove that.

OnSept. 9,2021, Rivera gave birth to anotherdaughter.Hweihsaid she saw bruises on her daughter when she would bring the baby over to visit.

But five weekslater,Riveras mothercalled the Department of Children and Familiesto haveRiverasnewborn daughter removed from her custody because of drug use.

The referral suggested that the mother was unstable and the safety of the minor child was compromised, a report provided by the Polk County Sheriffs Office states. Jessiramappeared to be stable and did not appear to be under the influence at the time of this investigation. She was drug-screened by the Investigator, which netted a positive result for MDMA (ecstasy), cannabis and amphetamines. Due to these results, a safety plan was put in place for the minor child, which places the minor child with the grandmother, Jessica.

Riverasmother triedtwice in the last month to placeRiverain a rehabilitation facilityor the county jailfor drug use under the states Marchman Act.The first attempt was on Nov.4.

I then transported (her) to Tri-County in Bartow, where she was turned over to staff with no issues, a deputy wrote in a report.I had no further involvement.

Butinstead of getting the help she said she wanted earlier in the year and her mother so desperately wanted her to have, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd saidRiveraimmediatelychecked herself out, which is allowable under the law.

On November 10, Riveras mother took out another Marchman Act on Rivera and asked that this time she be taken to the county jail so she could not leave.A warrant was issued for Rivera.

The next day, Rivera would encounterPolk County Sheriff Sgt. SeanSpeakman.

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Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd discusses his opposition to body cameras with reporters last week.

Kimberly C. Moore, The Ledger

Speakman, 46,is a homegrown deputy graduating from Kathleen Senior High in 1992 and Polk Community College in 1994.He worked asacomputer network engineer in Tampa for several years beforejoiningthe Polk County Sheriffs Officeas a civilianin 1998 to work initscomputer division.

Within months, he was receiving written compliments from his colleagues and supervisors, commending himfor going above and beyond anything asked of him, helping co-workers with technical issues without them even asking. Dedicated and professional were alsofrequently sprinkled throughouthis600-pagepersonnel file.He was named Member of the Quarter several times for his work, includingcreating a new way to format 50 new laptops, cutting the process from three hourseachto just eight minutesper laptop.

Polk CountySheriffs Office spokesman Scott Wilder said Speakman had only twodisciplines, but the originals have been purged per retention requirements.One in 2001 required a letter of reprimand while another in 2006 involved verbal counseling.He has never been suspended andWilder saidSpeakmanhas had no internal affairs investigations.

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In 2004, Speakman applied to become a deputy and began taking classes at Polk State Colleges Law Enforcement Academy.

By 2006, he was assigned to the computer crimes unit, where he excelled in tracking downonline pedophiles.

He gave a demonstration to a womans group, their husbands, and several teenagersin 2006.A letter from one of the memberssaid the sheriff must reap tons of accolades on Sean Speakman.

It was his first program and he was amazing, one couple wrote in a letter to Judd.He managed to hook a real live predator and it really blew people away...you should be sending him everywhere with that program.

That wasalsothe year he went through Crisis Intervention Training and learned to handle mentally ill peoplewho were having some kind of breakdown.

Within months, he was faced with 13-year-old Kyle Arthur, who is bipolar and was extremely depressed.

Back then there were times where we didnt know what to do, Kylesmother, Diana Arthur, said.It was hard to figure out.We were still learning about his bipolar diagnosis.

Bipolar disorder isa mental disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, concentration, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks. according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

Arthurdescribed one night whenKylespotted something in a television ad that he wanted.He would become obsessed over things and demand to be taken to the storethen and there to get it.

"He got mad because I wouldnt take him toWalMart- he grabbed a kitchen knife and locked himself in his bedroom, Arthur said. Then he came out with his big beautiful blue eyes and tears running down his face.He said, Mom, you need to take me somewhere. I cant keep doing this to you and dad. I need to live someplace else.

She said 40 minutes later, she went into his roomandhewas playing Xbox live and seemed perfectly fine.

But one night,Kyle locked himself in his room and said he didnt want to live any more.

Arthurand her husband called 911 and asked for a deputy with Crisis Intervention Training to come. Speakman showed upand began implementingwhat he had learned in the week-long classes.Hefirsttalked to the worried parents, askingwhat medication was Kyle taking.But the family was strugglingto find the right one a process that can take weeks or months.

Then Speakman asked if Kyle had any weapons with which he could hurt himself. They said they didnt think so.

"Sean went to the door and he talked in a very calm voice, Arthur said.He said, HeyKyle,this isDeputySpeakman.Hey,I just want to talk to you.Im nothere to do anything.I just want to talk to you to see whats going on.

On the other side of the door, Kyle started to climb out the window, but spotted deputies outside on the lawn.

The next thing we knew,he opened his bedroom door and ran right past him and out the front door and down the street, Arthur said.SoSeantook off after him and basically was able to catch up with him and put him in the patrol car and thats where they decided,well,were going to Baker Act him.

She said Speakman had to tackle Kyle to get him to stop, something they joked aboutthe next daywhen Speakmanreturnedto the house to check on Kyle.The young deputy also gave the teenager his cellphone number and told him to call any time if he needed something.

And that shows you what a good person Sean is.There forawhile,Kyle,he actually contacted Sean a few times when he needed somebody to talk to or run something by him, Arthur said.At the time we used to say hes like a mentor to my son.

Kyle is now grown with a family of his own and will turn 30 just after Christmas.

Speakman rose through the ranks at the sheriffs department, working in felony crimes where he often had the most arrests in his unit joining the SWAT team, and thenbecoming a sergeant in recent years.He also earned his masters degreein cybersecurity and cyber-intelligence from the University of South Floridain 2019.

In 2013, Speakman received a Medal of Honor from Judd for aNovember 2012incidentwith aMulberryman threatening to kill himself and then firing on respondingdeputies.

Speakman was assigned to help evacuate the houses in the area,including those directly across from thegunmanshome.

As you were performing your duties, suspect (redacted) began shooting his weapon at deputies,Judd wrote in thecommendation, noting that the mans wife told the deputies that her husband was trying to kill them. Despite the immediate life-threatening peril to yourself and peers, you continued toplace yourself at risk to protect others...you encountered an elderly woman who was bed ridden and dependent on oxygen. Realizing her home was taking fire from the suspect, you selflessly carried her to an awaiting ambulance, placing yourself in even greater riskdue to your inability to return fire while carrying her.

Judd called Speakmans effort that dayheroic and valiant and awarded him the medal for hissteadfast determination to keep everyone at the scene safe.None of the residents in the neighborhood were harmed.

In November 2015, Speakmans supervisor, Jennifer Davis, commended him for utilizing his CPR trainingand saving someones lifeat a call on Country Club Lane.

Your efforts and professionalism on the scene sustained life for the victim allowing for transport to (Lakeland RegionalHealth Medical Center) for additional medical support, Davis wrote.Though calls like this are consideredour job,they are certainly the calls that make a huge impact on public perception.I am grateful to have you as a member of SW ALPHA and a strong part of the professional image we display.

Dayslater, a person handwrote a notethanking Speakman for his professionalism in another incident.

The officer performed his duties with a compassion and empathy not usual by public servants, the person wrote.The officer acted very personable and warm.I wish to thank him personally.

In June, herequested and was grantedatransferto the departments southeast unit.That transfer put him in the path ofJessiramHweihRivera on Nov. 11.

Rivera spent the last hour of her lifethat daywalking in and out of busy traffic along Rifle Range RoadnearRedemption Baptist Churchin Wahneta.

A recording of a 911 call provided to The Ledger shows that people called into the emergency center to report a woman in a blue top and flowered pants with blonde hair walking north on Rifle RangeRoadat 3:17 p.m.

Judd said awitnesstoldinvestigators that Rivera said the police were after her and she was not going back to jail.

Butthe firstresponding deputy couldnt find Rivera and cleared the scene a few minutes after arriving.

At 3:41 p.m. another call came in and Speakman,who was monitoring the departments live 911,arrivedwithin a minuteand found Rivera walkingdowna long dirt driveway.

While Rivera was wanted on the Marchman Act, Speakman didnt knowwho she was, or that she was wanted.He also didnt know about her violent past,or her history of mental illnessanddrugaddiction.

He saw a woman who was about 54 and weighed 115 pounds down from 150 pounds the year before. He also saw that she wasangry andcarryinga shovel.Speakman is 510 and weighs about 175 pounds.

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Mental Health: Woman with mental illness wielding a shovel is killed by highly trained deputy - The Ledger