Metro Family Says Man Arrested Is Veteran Needing Help

<p>On Friday, a man was arrested in Oklahoma City on Briarcliff Drive after threatening a neighbor and two repair workers with a gun.&nbsp;</p>

Wednesday, February 22nd 2017, 7:12 pm

By: News 9


On Friday, a man was arrested in Oklahoma City on Briarcliff Drive after threatening a neighbor and two repair workers with a gun.

According to the police report, 42-year-old Eric Fisher approached three people, rambling about the victim “being part of the secret service” and “yelling about government conspiracies”.

The report shows he eventually went to his truck, removed a pistol from a compartment, and inserted a magazine.

Police said the two repairmen drove away, and Fisher then pointed the pistol at the neighbor. The neighbor went inside the house to safety. Looking out the window, the neighbor told police Fisher was waving the pistol in one hand while bouncing a tennis ball in the other. He was arrested by the Oklahoma City Police Department without incident.

Fisher’s family reached out to News 9 saying this incident could have been prevented. They read comments on Facebook of people calling Fisher “loony” or blaming it on “drug abuse”, but the family said this man was denied the help he needed.

According to Fisher’s mom and brother, Fisher is an Iraq War veteran who served in the Marines. He was in the combat zone in 2002 and left the military honorably. After returning home, Fisher was diagnosed with severe post-traumatic stress disorder and schizophrenia.

His mother, Linda Mount, said her son refused to take his medications. She tried getting him help by bringing him to different hospitals five times in the last month. Mount said, “All they could say is they couldn’t do a thing unless he hurt somebody or if he injured somebody.”

Mount said it went too far. Fisher put others and himself in harm’s way. Instead of being out in the public, she believes he should have been in a mental health facility or hospital.

Rob Spencer, Eric Fisher’s half-brother said, “I’m just glad that the neighbor and the repairmen weren’t hurt.” He said the family has searched endlessly, but are not able to get Fisher the help that he needs.

“My brother I just one example. I know there’s got to be several, several more veterans just in the Oklahoma City Area that have the same issue,” said Spencer, who also served in the Marine Corps.  

Spencer is upset, saying Veteran Affairs and the mental health system are failing his brother and those who serve the country.

“This son of mine is a good man and I don’t want people to think that he is not,” said Mount. The family hopes with this story, other veterans can get the help they need.

Eric Fisher has an arraignment at the Cleveland County Courthouse at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday. The family already let the judge know about Fisher’s disabilities.

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