Brooklyn man dies after officer zaps him twice with Taser

Newsday.com

June 10, 2008


RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (AP) _ Police on Long Island say a man has died after being shocked twice with an officer's Taser stun gun while trying to swallow a bag of drugs.

Suffolk County police say an officer saw the 26-year-old Brooklyn man trying to swallow a bag of cocaine on Monday. They say the officer shocked the man twice to try to stop him.

Police say the man spat out a white powder and remnants of a plastic bag. They say he was taken to a Riverhead hospital, where he died that evening.

The announcement of the man's death comes a day before thousands of New York City police sergeants are due to begin carrying Tasers on their belts.