DFW Investigating Taser death

FW Police are investigating the death of a 24-year-old man who was being removed from his parents home after a police officer used a Taser on him Saturday.

Surfing the net for Taser® incidents is more than a little disconcerting. There are a plethora of incidents reported in local newspapers where stun guns are used against elderly and handicapped people. Here is an example story from Dallas / Fort Worth.

Michael Jacobs
Schizophrenic Dies

Police records show the parents of Michael Jacobs Jr. called police to their home on Ava Court Saturday morning, saying their son was causing a disturbance.

The family was asking that police take Jacobs to JPS Hospital for a mental health evaluation. According to the family Jacobs had mental issues and had been off his medications.

According to the police report when officers arrived they found Jacobs agitated and pacing on the front lawn.

The report says an officer stunned him with a Taser when he became combative and refused to go with the officer.

The officers planned to take Jacobs to the hospital for a mental detention. He was handcuffed but began to have difficulty breathing. An ambulance arrived and transported Jacobs to the hospital, where he later died.

Family members like Jacobs' aunt Carol Morris told CBS 11 they didn't understand why police did not try to physically overpower him. "He was my size; they could have thrown him to the ground and cuffed him. I don't understand that."

Police say the officers were trying to help, but that Jacobs was out of control and they had to use the stun gun.

Fort Worth Police are investigating the case. The Tarrant County medical examiner's office will determine what caused Jacobs' death.
http://cbs11tv.com/local/Michael.Jacobs.Taser.2.988699.html
That is not the end of the story.

The family says their patience is wearing thin as they wait for two investigations into the matter wrap up. That April day is when 24-year old Michael Jacobs, Jr. died after police officers shot him with a Taser.

In April, the Fort Worth Police Department said there would be a formal investigation into the incident. But the family has waited four months now for police and medical examiner investigations to conclude, but neither has produced a result. "It's a living hell," said Michael's mother, Charlotte Jacobs. "I have a lot of good days and a lot of bad days."

The idea that the young man is gone is still hard for some members of the family. "I keep expecting him to walk through the door," said Michael Jacobs, Sr. "It just hasn't settled in yet."

The Jacobs family had called police in April because Michael Jr. was off the medicine they say he needed for schizophrenia. According to the family, Michael Jr. was agitated and they wanted police to transport him to the hospital as they had done several times in the past.

Dispatcher records show fire and ambulance crews were dispatched and had arrived on the scene but police waved them off -- sent them away.

That left three officers and Jacobs according to eyewitnesses. "He started backing up like he wanted to run," explained Charlotte Jacobs. "Next thing I know they Tased him, or Tasered him, or whatever it is. That lady kept doing the gun like that," she said motioning with her hand. "And I said 'Lady you're killing him! You're going to kill my son'."

The Jacobs say Michael fell to the ground. His father says at one point he noticed his son's stomach wasn't rising and falling and told officers his son wasn't breathing. It was then, family members say, an officer checked Michael Jr.'s pulse as he laid the man down.

Dispatch records show that a MedStar Ambulance was called back to the scene 15-minutes after being sent away. Medics arriving at the scene say they found Michael Jr. on the ground, in handcuffs, unconscious, not breathing, without a pulse and with no one performing CPR.

"If they had gave him CPR maybe they could have revived him and brought him back," Charlotte Jacobs said.

Investigators with the Fort Worth department say they have no choice but to stay quiet about what their finding, since the investigation results will have to be given to the district attorney's office and a grand jury to decide if there should be charges filed or administrative action taken.

Police will only say that the investigation is ongoing.

Exactly what type of aid was rendered and how many times the Taser was discharged are key parts of the information that will be handed over once the internal investigation is complete. "That will come out," said Lt. Paul Henderson of the Fort Worth Police Department. "And that will be part of the investigation and it will be there for the district attorney to review; as will the grand jury."

As it stands, officials with FWPD say the only thing they're waiting on to file a report are the investigation results from the medical examiner. Officials with the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's office told CBS 11 News that it has only recently collected all the interviews from people involved and is putting together the information now.
http://cbs11tv.com/local/Michael.Jacobs.Taser.2.1143958.html