Sunday, January 03, 2010

Preston Bussey III Dies After Being Tasered

Cocoa investigators are trying to figure out how a man died at a hospital after local police shocked him with a Taser.

On Sunday, the victim's family spoke out.

"I feel that he went there for safety, for a safe place and he should have been protected," said Pearl Morice, the mother of Preston Bussey III. "I don't know what happened, but I'm seeking justice."

Bussey, 41, admitted himself to Wuesthoff Hospital with apparent self-inflicted wounds, according to a police report. The emergency room physician called for an involuntary psychological examination. The police report said Buseey became combative and disruptive.

Hospital officials called the Rockledge Police Department, after which two officers deployed their Tasers. Bussey was kept in the waiting room, where he was given medication and placed on a gurney. Buseey died shortly after.

"It's agony to not have answers to dear questions especially when they're dealing with your children," said Preston Bussey Jr., the victim's father.

The family said their son's death was even more painful because another son died at Holmes Regional Medical Center after a struggle with police in 1999.

The Rockledge Police Department said in a statement that they sent their sincerest condolences to the Bussey family during the tragic event.

With the investigation ongoing by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the department said it would be premature to comment further on the incident.

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