Deaths of suspects in police custody are always a matter of grave concern. In a bizarre incident in South Dallas, a man has died after wrestling naked with police. Police used a Taser on him during the arrest.
The death occurred on March 1 on the 3600 block of Colonial Avenue in South Dallas. Officers arrived in a bar in the early hours of the morning following reports of a man who appeared to be high on PCP, the Dallas Morning News reported.
The man from Irving wrestled naked with police, according to reports. He was arrested and then hospitalized. Police, who used a Taser on the man during the scuffle, said they believe he was also stabbed in the bar before they arrived.
“It’s unclear which, if any, of those things killed him. Investigators are treating the case as a death in police custody, but said the cause hasn’t been determined,” reported the Dallas Morning News.
Officers were called to the bar there at around 1:30 a.m. in response to a report of an armed encounter. They arrived to find a crowd outside the bar and a naked man inside “who appeared to be on drugs,” said Lt. Max Geron.
“The subject pulled away from and shoved officers before officers tried using a Taser on the subject,” Geron said in the media report. “Police said the Taser appeared to be ineffective and police had to wrestle with the man.
On the way to Parkland Hospital, he suffered “some form of medical distress,” according to Geron. At this point medical personnel discovered he had been stabbed, apparently before the altercation with the police. Although the stab wounds did not appear to be life threatening, the man died 45 minutes later.
No arrest has been made in the stabbing of the man, which police said is being treated as an aggravated assault. Geron said definitive evidence would be needed from the medical examiner to warrant a murder charge being brought. The Dallas Morning News reported the identity of the man who died is being withheld pending the notification of his family. He was never charged with a crime.
It’s unclear if the use of a Taser was a factor in this death. However, Tasers have been linked to fatalities across the nation. Amnesty International say more than 500 people have died in the U.S. after a Taser was used on them.
Deaths in police custody are always of concern and require detailed investigations. Recently a 32-year-old man died in a police cell in Dallas after being arrested on a traffic violation.
Brian Michael Hunter was found unresponsive in his cell in October 2013, and taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. His vehicle was stopped after he made an unsafe lane change. He was taken to the Dallas detention center when he was found to have outstanding traffic warrants.
In the past we have also noted the large number of deaths of inmates that are taking place in jails in Texas.
