A criminal investigation is underway after an Indianapolis police officer tasered a man to death while responding to a disturbance call on Monday night.
According to a statement filed by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department’s North District, officers responded to a disturbance call around 3:20 a.m. at 3720 Marrison Place, where they found a man and his parents upon arrival. The father informed officers his adult son was “having a psychosis” and police called for an ambulance at his request. While waiting for the ambulance to arrive, officers tried to employ “de-escalation tactics” as the individual—who was not named but described as 6’2” and 280 pounds—moved around the home naked, sweating, and bleeding from his mouth.
“After more than 10 minutes of officers negotiating and using de-escalation tactics, the man moved quickly towards an officer,” the statement read, which caused an officer to use his taser. The man was tasered in the chest with one of the two prongs.
“After the taser trigger is pulled, it is automatically activated for five seconds. The officer activated the taser twice,” police wrote, noting that the man continued to resist despite being tasered. Officers handcuffed him and asked him to roll over onto his stomach, but the man was unresponsive. Medics arrived and checked for a pulse and asked police to remove the handcuffs so they could perform CPR. The individual was brought to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The Marion County Coroner’s Office is investigating the nature and cause of the man’s death. IMPD confirmed the officers were wearing activated body cameras but has not yet released the footage. The officers involved in the incident have since been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation, which IMPD says is department policy.
The criminal investigation is being conducted by the IMPD Critical Incident Response Team, and the department’s Internal Affairs is conducting its own investigation as well. The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office is additionally being consulted and a Use of Force Review Board will go through the officer’s use of force after the investigation is completed.
