Texas Police Tase Overweight Asthmatic to Death in Drug Raid That Uncovers No Drugs

From:  Alternet 

Another casualty of the drug war.

May 28, 2013  |  

On May 16th, Forth Worth police entered the home of Jarmaine Darden, 34, in search of cocaine. The raid, which does not appear to have uncovered any cocaine,  ended with the 34-year-old father dead after police tased him multiple times. 

Family members told CBS 11 that the 350-pound man, who'd been asleep on the couch when police came in, couldn't drop to the ground on his stomach as officers commanded because he suffered from asthma. 

“They physically pulled him off the couch because, like I said, he was asleep. They pulled him off the couch and they tried to put him on his stomach. He can’t breathe on his stomach. He don’t even lie on the bed on his stomach,” said Donna Randle, the mother of victim Jarmaine Darden, 34. 

According to what witnesses told CBS 11, Darden stopped breathing and died after police tased him the second time. An investigation into the incident is underway. 

34-year-old Jermaine Darden, pictured here with his wife and children, died after he was Tased by Fort Worth police. A cause of death is pending. WFAA.com

Tasers are supposed to save lives by allowing police to de-escalate dangerous situations without using their guns. But critics say they are over-used and can prove deadly, most often by causing cardiac arrhythmia and cardiac arrest, including in otherwise healthy individuals. Hundreds of incidents of death or injury have been reported, leading to multiple lawsuits against police departments and Taser International, a manufacturer of the weapon. 

Ironically, police officers have sued the company in the past for taser injuries suffered  during training sessions.