Fort Worth police are investigating following the death of a mentally ill 24-year-old after police subdued him with a Taser stun gun.
The parents of Michael Jacobs Jr. called police to a Fort Worth home on Saturday morning, saying their son was causing problems, police said in a statement.
Police said an officer stunned him with a Taser when he became combative.
The officers planned to take Jacobs to John Peter Smith Hospital for a mental detention. He was handcuffed but began to have difficulty breathing, police said.
Police said he was later taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The Tarrant County medical examiner's office will determine what caused Jacobs' death.
Family members told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that police officers used excessive force to subdue Jacobs, who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Charlotte Jacobs, Michael's mother, says that while he was being stunned, her son was writhing on the ground and foaming at the mouth. She said she begged the officers to stop.
Helena Wigfall, 37, a cousin of Michael Jacobs, said police had nothing to fear from her cousin, who weighed about 150 pounds.
Kyev Tatum, pastor of the Servant House Baptist Church, said the Jacobs family would like an outside investigation as well as an autopsy from someone unaffiliated with the medical examiner's office.
Fort Worth Police Chief Jeffrey Halstead told the newspaper that he could not comment on the incident until he was briefed by investigators, which he expected to happen Monday.
Amnesty International reported this year that 351 people have died after being stunned with Taser guns since June 2001.
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http://www.news8austin.com/content/your_news/default.asp?ArID=238347
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