The Yonkers Police Department announced that a male assault suspect died in custody after officers deployed a TASER twice during a response to a violent attack at 165 Bruce Avenue.
According to authorities, the TASER deployments were ineffective, and the man later became unresponsive while handcuffed before being pronounced dead at a local hospital.
The New York State Attorney General’s Office and Yonkers Police Department Internal Affairs are investigating the incident.
The case has raised broader questions about TASER safety, as similar incidents have occurred elsewhere. New York recorded more than 34 deaths following TASER use between 2001 and 2018, according to the Yonkers Police Department.
A Reuters investigation found 1,005 deaths following TASER use by U.S. police from 2001 through 2018, rising to 1,081 by 2019. The report documented 49 such deaths in 2018 alone and noted that no federal agency maintains a nationwide registry of fatalities linked to conducted energy weapon use.
Medical examiners and coroners listed TASERs as a cause or contributing factor in 153 of 712 reviewed cases, about 21% of the 779 deaths with available cause-of-death data, according to Reuters. Court records show wrongful death lawsuits have been filed in at least 442 of more than 1,000 documented incidents.
In another recent case, Mesa, Arizona police said Eric Baker, age 52, died in custody on April 6 after multiple TASER deployments during a bicycle stop that escalated into a foot chase. The cause of death is pending with the Maricopa County Medical Examiner. Reuters found Arizona recorded 34 deaths following TASER use between 2001 and 2018.
