Stun Gun Shooting Ends in Death

A man who ran away after being pulled over for a traffic violation died Tuesday when a Santa Ana police officer shot him with a stun gun, authorities said.

The man was the first person to die in the city in 10 years after being hit with one of the guns, said Lt. Baltazar De La Riva, spokesman for the department.

The gun manufacturer, Taser International, has come under scrutiny by the International Assn. of Chiefs of Police and other organizations over claims and research that critics said may exaggerate the weapon’s safety.

Police could not immediately identify the dead man, who they said appeared to be in his 20s.

He was pulled over shortly after noon for a routine traffic stop, but ran into a residential neighborhood.

A police officer chased him for five minutes, through backyards, over fences and over a drainage ditch, until he caught the man at the intersection of Shelley Street and Lingan Lane, De La Riva said.

Police said the officer then fired his stun gun. The weapon throws a dart that attaches to a suspect’s body. The dart is connected to the gun by a wire and delivers a 50,000-volt shock designed to momentarily incapacitate its target.

Because the death was ruled to have occurred while the man was in police custody, the district attorney’s office will review the case. One item to check is the record produced by a computer chip in the gun, recording the duration and frequency of the officer’s shots. The officer’s name will not be disclosed until the review is concluded.

De La Riva said investigators found what appeared to be methamphetamine in the man’s car and on his person. In other deaths involving stun guns, medical examiners have found that drugs in a person’s system can increase the risk of death.

In October 2003, Roman Gallius Pierson, 40, of Moreno Valley died after he was shocked twice with a Taser stun gun by a Brea police officer. His death was determined to be caused by cardiorespiratory arrest and an overdose of methamphetamine.

The last Orange County death associated with a stun gun occurred in May 2005 when Tustin police shot Richard Alvarado, 38, of Orange in an apartment they thought he was burglarizing.

Amnesty International reported that between 2001 and 2004, more than 70 people died in the United States and Canada after being struck by M26 or X26 Tasers, two newer models designed to be less lethal than their predecessors. Santa Ana police use the X26, but not all officers carry them.

Amnesty International has called for a moratorium on the use of the guns so an independent safety review can be conducted, looking at the possibility that the guns sometimes deliver a stronger shock than advertised. The group also alleges that the guns are too often used to subdue people fleeing the scene of minor crimes.

Police departments have defended the weapon as a safe means to subdue a suspect who is dangerous or combative without resorting to lethal force.

De La Riva said the decision to use a Taser is left to the officer. “It is intended to prevent serious bodily harm to the suspect or the officer,” he said.

Researcher John Jackson contributed to this report.