SPANAWAY — Pierce County sheriff’s detectives are investigating whether drugs or alcohol played a role in the death of a man who stopped breathing after deputies stunned him with a Taser.
Sgt. Jerry Bates told The News Tribune they suspect drugs.
Deputies were called about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday to a Spanaway apartment where the 27-year-old man had been staying but refused to leave. He had thrown a propane tank from a barbecue through a window and was hiding behind a couch when deputies arrived.
When he struggled, deputies used the Taser stun gun, put him in handcuffs and bound his feet.
Paramedics were on their way when he lost consciousness. He could not be revived and was pronounced dead at St. Claire Hospital in Lakewood.
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