May 28, 2007 6:51 pm US/Eastern
Md. Man Dies After Police Use Taser On Him
by Mike Hellgren
SEAT PLEASANT, Md. (WJZ) ―
Erick Skinner is angry over the death of his son. Doctors pronounced him dead shortly after Prince George's County Police shot the man with a Taser.
"They tasered him to death. They stopped his heart. My son died," Skinner said. "I think they tasered my son until they killed him."
Police say the man was violently combative when they responded to a fight at an apartment complex in Seat Pleasant. Officers were taking him to a hospital for a mental health evaluation.
"The Taser is supposed to bring somebody under control, not kill them," said Jamala Smith, the victim's sister.
Investigators are now looking into whether the shock caused his death--the fourth Taser death in Maryland this year.
In March, Baltimore County Police tasered a man after they say he refused to drop a baseball bat. In April, Uwanda Peterson died after Baltimore County Police shot her with a Taser. Police say she attacked an officer.
"Why would they take my mother from me? Why would they take my son's grandmother?" said Cierra Peterson.
And just this month, again in Baltimore City, a man died after police shot him with a Taser, saying he was out of control.
Officers are taught Tasers are a safe way to stop a suspect.
"The effects of the Taser are temporary. Electricity does not stay in the body. It doesn't stay. It's not like you're adding more and more electricity," said Taser International CEO Rick Smith.
But with 184 deaths in 10 years, the Justice Department is now investigating their use. Now this latest death in Maryland has placed the growing use of this controversial tool under scrutiny again.
"He had issues just like anybody else, but that doesn't mean he deserved to die," Smith said.
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