Photo: CBS 12
The Martin County Commission has given preliminary approval to expand the county jail to include a wing just for between 200 and 300 inmates with mental illnesses.
The Sheriff calls the jail the 'largest mental health facility in the county.'
He showed commissioners security camera footage showing how violent inmates being treated for mental illness can be and says his deputies are getting injured often.
The project is expected to cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars, so the county is hoping to get some state funding.