Man dies after officers used Taser to subdue him

FAYETTEVILLE (AP) — Authorities say a man who told police that he had overdosed on crack cocaine died after an officer used a Taser to restrain him.

The Fayetteville Police Department said Wednesday that officers responding to an early morning business alarm found the men. Authorities said the man became combative and that officers tried twice to use a Taser to subdue him.

Fire medics came to attend to the man but he stopped breathing and was later pronounced dead. Authorities said the man had told an officer that he had overdosed on crack cocaine.

Police have not released the man’s name and did not directly link the Taser to the man’s death. The State Bureau of Investigation is investigating the incident and the Fayetteville
Police Department is conducting an internal probe.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)