A 45-year-old man died in west Stockton on Monday after he was Tasered by San Joaquin County Sheriff’s deputies.
Deputies were called to 2600 block of De Ovan Avenue on a report that a man was acting “crazy” and creating a ruckus, that he damaged property and stole a bicycle, said sheriff’s spokesman Les Garcia.
The victim was uncooperative and started to fight with deputies, the spokesman said, so they shot him with a Taser, which sends a jolt of electricity into a victims body.
When the Taser was “ineffective,” they physically subdued the man, and when it appeared he was having trouble breathing, they called an ambulance, Garcia reported.
The victim had stopped breathing by the time paramedics arrived, and though he was given CPR, he died at a local hospital.
Garcia said the death is under investigation, and an autopsy will be done to determine the cause of death. The spokesman said he does not yet know how many times the man was shot with the Taser, or if he was even hit with it.
“He had a leather coat on,” Garcia said. “I don’t know if the Taser was ineffective because of that. We don’t know if it came in contact with him.”
The use of Tasers is controversial because of their widespread use and the number of people who have died after having been Tasered.
Its manufacturer, Taser International, says more than 375,000 Taser devices have been sold to law enforcement since 1998, and says the guns are perfectly safe.
But Amnesty International has calculated that 290 people have died in North America since 2001 after being zapped by a Taser.
And a recent University of California, San Francisco study of 50 U.S. cities showed that in-custody sudden deaths increased six times in the first year after law enforcement started using stun guns compared to before their use, though the number of in-custody deaths fell in years following.
Garcia said a Taser is one of the tools deputies use “to help minimize injuries to deputies” and to the people they arrest.
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http://www.fox40.com/pages/landing_local_headlines/?Stockton-Man-Dies-After-Being-Tasered=1&blockID=203839&feedID=190
2 comments:
What happened to Listen to the police officer and respect them and they won't have to use a taser or beat you to put a pair of handcuffs on you? If people would stop running their mouth and fighting with Police things like this would never happen. I feel for the family- I wish somone didnt have to die- When it comes to the people putting their life on the line every day (police officers) they deserve a little bit of respect. If you don't like what the officer says or does- take it up with the judge- plenty of people are released after they plea their case to the courts...
the guy is my uncle and you certainly have no idea what the hell you're talking about you son of a bi@$h
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