Here's the story as we understand it. The police indicate that an elderly woman in her 60s called 911 on Tuesday (June 15) afternoon to report that her neighbor, Michael White, assaulted her at her front door. The injured woman had escaped the neighbor’s grasp and he had returned home.
Four unidentified police officers arrived on the scene and went across the street to White's home. The police say that White was delusional, irrational and uncooperative. A struggle ensued as police officers tried to control White. At this point, two of the unidentified police officers decided it was time to jolt Mr. White with 50,000 volts of energy from their taser guns. I imagine that if you pump 100,000 volts into somebody ... they are tame enough to handcuff. The police indicate that Mr. White was taken into custody at this point.
The police then tell us that fire personnel and medics responded to the scene and White continued to be combative as he was placed on a gurney, put into an ambulance and taken to the hospital.
Michael White died in the emergency room of Kaiser Permenente Vallejo Medical Center at 5:22 pm -- less than an hour after the police arrived at his home.
Of course, we don't know Michael White's version of the story. He's dead.
"Since 1990, he's been arrested for 14 different criminal violations ranging from theft, grand theft, forgery, numerous drug violations including transport of drugs, assault with a deadly weapon, assault of a peace officer, resisting arrest and parole violation," police said.I'm not certain how that is relevant to the pre-judicial electrocution that took place on Tuesday afternoon.
Vallejo police dismissed a claim by members of a White's family that police killed him with excessive force.
"No, we did not murder Michael White. The autopsy's indicating ... excited delirium as the positive cause of death," said police Lt. Abel Tenorio.Preliminary test results from the Solano County Coroner's Office indicate White had cocaine in his system. A full toxicology report is expected within two weeks.
The two unidentified offers who electrocuted White remain on duty. The Vallejo Police Department generally places officers on administrative leave after such an incident to evaluate them and check their mental health, however, in this case, the officers felt they did not need time off because they felt none of their actions caused White's death.
"We're continuing the investigation, and we're waiting for the autopsy reports. We have a preliminary finding, but we'll continue the investigation, talk to witnesses and have the (district attorney) review it when it's complete," Tenorio said.I ask villagers to let us know if you learn anything new about this taser-killing.
