Online videos show mental mindset of Jacksonville man shot multiple times by officers

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Online videos obtained by Action News Jax give insight into the mindset of a Jacksonville man who waved what appeared to be hand gun at police officers, Wednesday.

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

Vincent Palermo (64) was shot multiple times by officers with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. The department revealed, on Thursday, the item in Palermo’s hand was an air-soft pistol.

Palermo has a YouTube channel with 85 videos. One video details how he wanted to die as a result of “suicide by police.”

“This video here is uh suicide by police,” Palermo stated in a video. “I’m gonna come out. I’m gonna pretend like I’m gonna shoot ‘em. Then I’m gonna suicide by police.”

[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]

The 64 year old has been in and out of jail for multiple stalking charges and violating protection orders. Action News Jax obtained 14 mug shots from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, all belonging to Palermo. He also has prior baker acts, dating back to 2013, according to JSO.

The responding officers knew some of this information when they were called to his home Thursday night in response to an armed suicide call.

“While on route, they used their computers and tried to look up what they could on the suspect by name,” Chief Alan Parker said. “They found a few videos that had been going for a few weeks, where it looks like he had been posting some erratic videos. One of them in particular that caused concern was he talked about suicide by cop. He even had an online kind of like a pistol catalogue he was looking at. Some were airsoft.”

Officers responded around 6:23 P.M. and tried to get Palermo out of his home. He eventually came outside with what appeared to be a hand gun in his hand, making threats.

“At that point the three officers involved did shoot him,” Chief Parker said. “Between the three of them, they shot 15 times.”

Latonya Summers is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Mental Health Counseling with Jacksonville University. While she can’t comment directly on this case, she said it’s important to have mental health professionals on scene who can help with de-escalation.

“Calling an officer who is not trained in mental health, will not see a mental health issue, but will see a more criminal behavior,” Summers said. “[We need] more collaboration between the sheriff’s office and mental health professionals so that we can train and we can be there, such as like peer supports to be able to identify crisis.”

Action News Jax reporter, Meghan Moriarty, reached out to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office about their de-escalation tactics and mental health training programs on Thursday, but did not hear back.

Moriarty previously reached out to JSO in 2021 about their response training programs, specifically related to mental health care calls. A spokesperson sent back this statement:

“Identified as “Co-Responders”, the program is made up of three, two-person units and was established last year. These teams currently respond to calls for service throughout the City. Though able to respond to any type of calls for service, their priority responses would be those that would necessitate or benefit from a licensed mental health counselor being present to assist in mitigating such issues. As a result of the great work being done, it is currently in the works to expand the program into each of the six zones by the middle of next year.”

—  JSO spokesperson (2021)

We asked if a co-responder was on scene Wednesday night, but have not heard back.

[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]

We also reached out to the Mayor Donna Deegan’s office and received this statement from a city spokesperson:

“We support the existing co-responder program, which has proven to be successful, and hope it can be expanded. This program falls under the purview of JSO. The Mayor’s Office is currently reviewing new mental health programs for the community at-large, including a 988 Crisis and Suicide Lifeline expansion, effort to raise awareness of 988, pediatric mental health service, and mental health “train the trainer” fund to grow the number of citizens who can provide “mental health first aid.” Dr. Sunil Josh, our Chief Health Officer, and Lynn Sherman, our Executive Director of Health Programs are working to better coordinate local mental health providers. Tracye Polson, our Director of Strategic Partnerships and a licensed clinical social worker herself, is also building partnerships with non-profits focused on mental health.”

—  City of Jacksonville Spokesperson

Palermo is in critical condition, but he is expected to survive, according to JSO. He is facing three counts of simple assault on a law enforcement officer.

Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.