NO CHARGES IN TASER DEATH

BOULDER - The District Attorney's office Tuesday said it won't file
criminal charges against a Lafayette police officer in the Taser
death of a man, but made the point that this doesn't necessarily
mean the officer acted appropriately.

Ryan Wilson, 22, died Aug. 4 shortly after he was chased from a
marijuana field by officers, ran for a half-mile and was hit by the
prongs of a Taser X26 fired by Officer John Harris.

The Lafayette police had said Harris fired the Taser because he felt
threatened when Wilson reached for what looked to be a knife, but
turned out to be a box cutter.

Assistant District Attorney Peter Maguire didn't try to address
whether Harris truly felt threatened, saying that question would be
germane if Harris had used a firearm, because an officer can't use
excessive force with a suspect.

But a single shot from a Taser "cannot be viewed as an unreasonable
use of force," Maguire said in a letter explaining the decision.

Tasers are used by police across the country, and while there have
been several Taser-related deaths, the chances of a single shot
causing a death remain very low. Such Taser-related deaths usually
are associated with extreme exertion, drugs in the bloodstream or
heart problems.

A coroner's report found no drugs in Wilson's system but did find an
unusually narrow artery that could have contributed to the death.

Ultimately, the DA's office decided against filing criminal charges
because there isn't a likelihood that charges can be proved beyond a
reasonable doubt, the letter said.

But that is "not necessarily synonymous with a finding that the
matter was handled appropriately," according to the letter.

The Lafayette Police Department had no comment on the DA's letter,
said spokesman Fred Palmer.