Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Winnipeg Man Dead After Tasing

I hope the details of this post-tasing death in Canada see the light of day:
WINNIPEG - A man died Tuesday after being shocked with a Taser by Winnipeg police in a back lane behind a city home. ...

A police spokeswoman said it was the first time a suspect has died after a Winnipeg officer has used an "electronic control device." ...

A witness told reporters he could see police trying to revive the man before paramedics arrived.

The confrontation began after an earlier incident, possibly involving a break-in of a vehicle. ...

According to one eyewitness, a young man in a blue jacket and baggy jeans walked through the parking lot of a tire store shortly before 4 p.m. followed closely by a black car.

The owner of the store, who identified himself as Dave, said the man walked calmly across the street, turned around and began giving the occupants of the car the finger.

Dave said he lost sight of the man as he headed east up the street. The black sedan followed the man.

Shortly after, a fire truck passed by and turned up the back lane, the witness said.

This all happened in the matter of about 30 seconds, Dave said, adding he found it strange how quickly an ambulance appeared on scene.

"It seemed awfully fast for an ambulance to be showing up," he said.

It sounds as if the man may be dead for flipping off the police.

PostBlog: a little more information is here (h/t TNT).