GOLD BAR — No charges will be filed against two Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies in connection with the Sept. 4 death of a Sultan man who stopped breathing after being shocked three times with a stun gun.
Adam Colliers, 25, was incoherent and talking about the devil when the deputies encountered him causing a disturbance on a Gold Bar street. Tests later showed he had been using methamphetamine.
The deputies used lawful force when they attempted to arrest Colliers, who was uncooperative, Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Roe wrote Thursday in a letter to detectives who investigated the death.
Colliers didn’t follow commands from Deputies Bryson McGee and Ian Whipple, and he resisted efforts to place him in handcuffs, the investigation found. The deputies snapped the restraints in place after they zapped Colliers with a Taser, applying three shocks, each five seconds long.
“Deputies almost immediately noticed that not only wasn’t Mr. Colliers resisting anymore, he wasn’t breathing either,” Roe wrote. They began CPR and paramedics took Colliers to Valley General Hospital in Monroe, but he died.
The medical examiner later ruled the death an accident. The autopsy “concluded that the combination of a fairly high level of drugs, extreme agitation and a struggle likely led to cardiopulmonary arrest and toxicity to the heart muscle that defied resuscitation,” Roe wrote. “It is unclear, and there are no physical findings to indicate, whether the Taser contributed to the death.”
Colliers was a 2003 graduate of Sultan High School and had been a member of the school’s wrestling and track teams. He became an avid golfer and was a self-taught musician, according to his obituary. He worked caring for a friend with a disability who uses a wheelchair.
“According to his family, Adam Colliers was a young man of great promise, with many people who loved him and who are ripped apart by his death,” Roe wrote. “I cannot, however, attribute his death to any improper law enforcement actions. The deputies used only reasonable force in a situation where they had to get a subject under control.
“While his death is horrible, and his loss devastating to many, I don’t believe the deputies did anything wrong,” Roe added.
In keeping with protocol, the death was investigated by the Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team. The deputies who were present returned to duty months ago.
Scott North, 425-339-3431; north@heraldnet.com.
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