# OFFICER ASSAULTED: Las Vegas police use Taser; man dies



## SGT_GRUNT_USMC (May 31, 2004)

*http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Jun-06-Tue-2006/news/7800801.html*

*OFFICER ASSAULTED: LV police use Taser; man dies *

*Coroner yet to determine cause of death of suspect *

By LAWRENCE MOWER 
REVIEW-JOURNAL 

Click image for enlargement.


A 48-year-old man whom Las Vegas police officers stunned with Tasers Saturday night was pronounced dead Sunday afternoon

He is the fourth person to die after being shocked by Las Vegas police since officers started carrying Tasers in 2003.

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The man, identified by the Clark County coroner's office as Felipe Fragoso Herrera of Las Vegas, had been pulled over for driving with expired license plates about 11 p.m. Saturday, police said.

When the officer tried to talk to Herrera after pulling him over, Herrera began cursing at the officer and "seemed agitated and was moving around inside the car," according to a news release from the police department. The officer asked Herrera to get out of the vehicle, a gold Buick with a Nevada plate that had expired in 2005, and Herrera repeatedly yelled at the officer and threatened to kill him, police allege.

The officer then tried to pat down Herrera, and Herrera punched the officer in the throat and face several times, police said. The officer radioed for help and fired his Taser, but it did not incapacitate Herrera, police said.

A passer-by tried to help the officer, but Herrera tried to attack that man, too, Las Vegas police Lt. Lew Roberts said.

Two other officers arrived and fired their Tasers at Herrera, who continued to fight with the officers after being shocked, police said.

Herrera stopped breathing shortly after being handcuffed, and officers conducted CPR until paramedics arrived, police said. Herrera was taken to Spring Valley Hospital, where he was pronounced dead Sunday afternoon.

The cause of death was pending, the coroner's office said Monday afternoon.

The news release from the police department noted that Herrera had prior offenses for battery on an officer, resisting an officer and battery by prisoner. Roberts initially said all of those prior offenses occurred in Las Vegas.

But when a Review-Journal check of District Court records on the Internet found no such criminal record for Felipe Fragoso Herrera and Roberts was asked to explain the discrepancy, he said, "We're still confirming if he had any priors."

The three officers involved in the event are on routine paid administrative leave, Roberts said.

Their names are to be made available today. Department policy calls for withholding for 48 hours the names of officers involved in deaths.

Roberts said the officer who was struck by Herrera was taken to a hospital for treatment for his injuries and was released from the emergency room.

There have been three prior Taser-related deaths involving Las Vegas police, but Clark County medical examiners and coroner's inquest juries did not single out the Taser as the sole cause of death in any of those cases, and the officers were cleared of wrongdoing in every case.

In February 2004, 26-year-old William Lomax died after Las Vegas police shocked him with a Taser seven times while he was handcuffed. A coroner's inquest jury ruled that the jolts from the Taser played a role in Lomax's death. The jury also blamed Lomax's drug use and the way he had been forcibly restrained. Lomax was alleged to have ingested PCP

Keith Tucker, 47, died in August 2004 after police stunned him four times with Tasers. Medical examiners determined that cocaine in the man's system, along with the shock from the Tasers and the effects of a police baton that was used on him contributed to his death.

In June 2005, 47-year-old Russell Walker died after Las Vegas police shocked him three times with a Taser while he was handcuffed. He had cocaine in his system when he died.

Gary Peck, executive director of the ACLU of Nevada, said he wasn't familiar with Saturday's incident and officers might have been justified in the use of the Tasers. But, he added, the Metropolitan Police Department has an "unclear policy" on the use of the devices.

In each Taser-related death, Peck said, there was "a cloud over the department and the officers involved."

"Maybe that's unfair," he added, "but it's the department's own doing.

"Tasers should only be used in those limited circumstances when they are an alternative to deadly force and/or necessary to the safety of the officer or public safety," Peck said.

Taser International co-owner and President Tom Smith was not able to be reached for comment after he spoke at a local gun store promoting a model of Taser designed for civilian use Monday morning.


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## Andy0921 (Jan 12, 2006)

It sucks that the guy died, but he should have just remained calm and he wouldnt have been tazed 3 times.


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## SPINMASS (Jan 30, 2004)

I like how this guy was in the wrong, and yet somehow the article still manages to bash the police.


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## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

You know the report is going to come back that he was high on drugs and that is what killed him when hit with the tazer.


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## Irish Wampanoag (Apr 6, 2003)

Ok SGT Grunt why did you tazer the guy 15 times. Was it because you but a light bulb in his mouth and wanted to see it light up! LOL


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## GD (May 2, 2002)

"Gary Peck, executive director of the ACLU of Nevada, said he wasn't familiar with Saturday's incident and officers might have been justified in the use of the Tasers. But, he added, the Metropolitan Police Department has an "unclear policy" on the use of the devices.

In each Taser-related death, Peck said, there was "a cloud over the department and the officers involved."

The ACLU, what a bunch of [email protected]!!! The only cloud is in their minds!!


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## dcs2244 (Jan 29, 2004)

What a shame...another scumbag dead...another loser off the dole.


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## dave7336 (Mar 25, 2006)

Gary Peck, executive director of the ACLU of Nevada, said he wasn't familiar with Saturday's incident and officers might have been justified in the use of the Tasers. But, he added, the Metropolitan Police Department has an "unclear policy" on the use of the devices.

In each Taser-related death, Peck said, there was "a cloud over the department and the officers involved."

"Maybe that's unfair," he added, "but it's the department's own doing.

"Tasers should only be used in those limited circumstances when they are an alternative to deadly force and/or necessary to the safety of the officer or public safety," Peck said.
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*have to love the ACLU....it wasn't the department's own doing, it was the person who failed to obey the officers who caused the tasers....tin other words, it was their own doing...*

*then he says that they should only be used as an alternative to deadly force or when the safety of officer or public is involved....doesn't the article say the guy attacked the officer and then went after the good samaritan?? *

*I guess we know why they guy from the ACLU is named Peck...it must be short for Peck#%head*


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