Post by tex on May 3, 2006 16:41:09 GMT -5
May 03, 2006 - WACO -- A man has died two days after officers shocked him twice with a Taser.
Jeremy Davis, 24, of Bellmead was pronounced dead Monday at a hospital, said Bellmead Police Chief Robert Harold.
The Taser is designed to incapacitate a person by sending a jolt of 50,000 volts through wires to two barbs that connect to a persons clothes or skin.
Bellmead police responding to a disturbance call Saturday afternoon found Davis, nude, in a restaurant parking lot, Harold said. Officers tried talking to Davis, but he became irate and resisted when four officers tried to subdue him, Harold said.
After police used the Taser, Davis snatched the probes out, but a second jolt brought him to the ground, Harold said. Moments later officers noticed he had stopped breathing but emergency workers revived him, Harold said.
At the Police Department's request, Texas Rangers are investigating the death.
Harold said an autopsy cannot be performed because Davis' family took his body to a funeral home and it already has been embalmed.
Harold said the officers involved in the incident have not been suspended, and the department does not plan to stop using the devices. He said he believes Davis' death was unrelated to the Taser, which he called "the best defensive weapon we have."
"We feel (the officers) have not done anything wrong," he said. "It's just an unfortunate situation."
The manufacturer, Taser International, maintains the devices have not been scientifically linked to any death or injury. The company has been sued several times, but courts have dismissed at least 14 lawsuits.
One wrongful death lawsuit is pending in Waco. Robert Earl Williams Sr. died in June after being subdued by Waco officers during a disturbance at his sister's house. Police have said it took five officers and multiple shocks to subdue Williams.
An autopsy showed Williams died from "acute physiological stress associated with multiple electrical shocks during an attempted restraint by police for schizophrenia with excited delirium." The report also listed high blood pressure, heart disease and complications from diabetes and obesity as contributing to his death.
Defendants in the suit include Taser International, the city of Waco and Affordable Realistic Tactical Training, which trained Waco officers to use the devices.
McLennan County District Attorney John Segrest sent Waco police a letter saying his office found no criminal intent by the officers, police Chief Alberto Melis said. The five officers were placed on administrative leave after Williams death but have since returned to duty, Melis said.
Jeremy Davis, 24, of Bellmead was pronounced dead Monday at a hospital, said Bellmead Police Chief Robert Harold.
The Taser is designed to incapacitate a person by sending a jolt of 50,000 volts through wires to two barbs that connect to a persons clothes or skin.
Bellmead police responding to a disturbance call Saturday afternoon found Davis, nude, in a restaurant parking lot, Harold said. Officers tried talking to Davis, but he became irate and resisted when four officers tried to subdue him, Harold said.
After police used the Taser, Davis snatched the probes out, but a second jolt brought him to the ground, Harold said. Moments later officers noticed he had stopped breathing but emergency workers revived him, Harold said.
At the Police Department's request, Texas Rangers are investigating the death.
Harold said an autopsy cannot be performed because Davis' family took his body to a funeral home and it already has been embalmed.
Harold said the officers involved in the incident have not been suspended, and the department does not plan to stop using the devices. He said he believes Davis' death was unrelated to the Taser, which he called "the best defensive weapon we have."
"We feel (the officers) have not done anything wrong," he said. "It's just an unfortunate situation."
The manufacturer, Taser International, maintains the devices have not been scientifically linked to any death or injury. The company has been sued several times, but courts have dismissed at least 14 lawsuits.
One wrongful death lawsuit is pending in Waco. Robert Earl Williams Sr. died in June after being subdued by Waco officers during a disturbance at his sister's house. Police have said it took five officers and multiple shocks to subdue Williams.
An autopsy showed Williams died from "acute physiological stress associated with multiple electrical shocks during an attempted restraint by police for schizophrenia with excited delirium." The report also listed high blood pressure, heart disease and complications from diabetes and obesity as contributing to his death.
Defendants in the suit include Taser International, the city of Waco and Affordable Realistic Tactical Training, which trained Waco officers to use the devices.
McLennan County District Attorney John Segrest sent Waco police a letter saying his office found no criminal intent by the officers, police Chief Alberto Melis said. The five officers were placed on administrative leave after Williams death but have since returned to duty, Melis said.