Man dies after Chicago police use taser on him

Jeremy Gorner
Chicago Tribune
Sunday, Oct 19, 2008

A man died today after Chicago police shot him with a taser gun when he approached officers with “a sharp-edged object” during a confrontation on the West Side, police said.

Police said the man also had ingested drugs just prior to the confrontation, which may have contributed to the death.

About 2 p.m., officers on bike patrol were in the area of North Leclaire Avenue and West Washington Boulevard when they saw a man, believed to be in his 30s, who appeared erratic and drinking from an open bottle, police said.

As police approached the man, he fled and a chase began.

“The man was apprehended and became combative with what appeared to be a sharp-edged object, thrashing at officers,” Chicago police spokeswoman Monique Bond said. “The subject resisted arrest and was subdued with a taser discharge.”

Bond said it also appears the man ingested an “unknown amount of narcotics” right before he died. The Cook County medical examiner’s office said the man’s identity was unknown and that an autopsy was pending. No officers were hurt during the confrontation.

The incident was being evaluated by the Independent Police Review Authority.