Monday, March 19, 2012

Tucson, AZ: Domestic-violence suspect is Tasered, later dies

A 46-year-old man died early Sunday after Tucson police Tasered him twice as he fought with them following a chase.
Michael Carbone was pronounced dead at a hospital shortly before 1 a.m., said Sgt. Maria Hawke, a Tucson Police Department spokeswoman. Initial indications are Carbone may have been under the influence of an unknown drug, Hawke said. An autopsy will be performed.
Hawke gave the following account in a written news release:
Police were called about a domestic-violence incident Saturday night in the 3000 block of North Alvernon Way. There, police spoke to a man and a woman through a screen door. The man eventually stepped out and was "verbally argumentative and confrontational with the officers before suddenly running from them."
Officers chased him and notified other officers by radio. He ran into a Circle K at 3155 N. Alvernon Way, near East Fort Lowell Road. He did not respond to police commands and kept arguing before two officers took him to the ground. He fought with officers as more officers arrived.
One officer Tasered the man twice "with limited effect." Police handcuffed the man and took him out of the store. Officers called for Tucson Fire Department paramedics, which is standard procedure when a Taser is used.
The man was uncooperative with paramedics as they tried to get information from him. Paramedics requested help from police to place him down in the parking lot. After he was put on the ground, he "suddenly became unresponsive." His handcuffs were removed as paramedics tried but were unable to revive him.
Officers involved in the incident are Albert Baca, Anissa Lozano, Quan Nguyen, Eric Altman, David Danielson, Russel Southerland, Roland Gutierrez and Jason Ives.
Homicide detectives will investigate Carbone's death.
The Office of Internal Affairs is also investigating, which is standard procedure after in-custody deaths. It will look at officers' response to the incident, including whether training, equipment, supervision and policies were appropriate.

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