May 28, 2008 11:23 pm US/Pacific
Man Dies After Being Tased By Woodland Police
WOODLAND (CBS13) ―
A recent confrontation with police left a mental health patient dead on a Woodland street. Witnesses say the man did not appear to be armed, but police said he was uncooperative and did have a weapon -- a pencil.
Police approached the man just outside of the Safe Harbor Mental Health Center after being called by staff, say Police. The man reportedly was belligerent with officers, and was holding a pencil in his hand.
"They deployed the taser in an effort to gain control over him," said Lt. Charlie Wilts of the Woodland Police Department. The officers were reacting to "[h]is whole behavior and the fact that's a weapon that can be used against you," he said.
Two officers fired their tasers repeatedly, but they had no effect, and the patient walked away down Kentucky Avenue, say police.
"They chased him a short distance and then confronted him," Lt. Wilts said.
The officers tried to shock the man again, but he appeared unaffected. With a crowd gathering on North West Street, the police officers used their batons to try and subdue him, say police.
"All of a sudden he got hit a few times with the baton," said one witness who only gave the name Chris.
Police said that it may have appeared shocking. "You might find it hard to understand why the officers were doing what they were doing," Lt. Wilts said.
Another officer arrived at the scene and attempted to his taser on the man. "He just went down," said another witness, who declined to identify herself.
Police said the man stopped breathing, and authorities tried to resuscitate him, according to police. Their efforts were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead.
"I watched them perform CPR for a few seconds, but I felt sick," said Chris. "I had to walk away."
The coroner is expected to rule on exactly what killed the man. The Woodland Police Department is investigating how a simple street stop turned into a deadly incident.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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