A man allegedly experiencing an erratic mental health episode was shot by a Volusia County Sheriff’s Office deputy after he allegedly charged the deputy while holding two knives.
On Sunday, February 5, VCSO deputies were called just after 1 p.m. to a home on Lakeshore Drive in New Smyrna Beach in reference to 43-year-old Michael Collmar acting erratically with two knives.
Upon arrival, deputies began negotiating with Collmar before eventually entering the home through a back door. Deputies attempted using multiple Taser deployments and a less-lethal shotgun to subdue Collmar, according to a statement issued by the sheriff’s office.
Collmar eventually escaped the deputies and made his way through the front door of the home, where another deputy was stationed outside.
Police say that at around 2:38 p.m., the deputy stationed outside of the front of the home fired as Collmar allegedly charged toward him. Collmar fell to the ground before police moved in and provided life-saving aid.
Collmar’s parents were not injured in the incident, nor were any of the deputies involved.
The incident followed multiple calls for service to the same address for a series of different incidents over the past month. On January 17, deputies responded to the home after Collmar’s mother reported that he was armed, screaming, paranoid and possibly hallucinating during an apparent mental health episode. That followed incidents on January 6, January 8, January 15, and February 4.
According to court records, Collmar was released from prison in October 2022 after serving nearly four years behind bars for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. During that incident in July 2017, Collmar stabbed a Port Orange man multiple times. Collmar has been arrested and incarcerated dozens of times over the past 12 years and has been convicted of at least 17 felonies and 19 misdemeanors.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement responded to the incident and is conducting an independent investigation into the shooting, which is standard procedure for officer-involved shootings.