TASERED MAN DIED OF COCAINE POISONING

PITTSBORO -- A man who led Chatham sheriff's deputies on a police
chase and then died shortly after they tasered and handcuffed him in
July died of cocaine poisoning, according to the N.C. Medical
Examiner's office.

Toxicology tests showed a very high concentration of cocaine in the
body of Shannon Lane Johnson, 37, of 939 Edwards Hill Church Road,
Siler City, the autopsy report said. "Death is due to cocaine
poisoning," the report states.

Law enforcement officers first encountered Johnson acting erratically
in the traffic circle around the courthouse in the center of
Pittsboro on Sunday about 5 a.m. on July 23. On the "narrative
summary of circumstances surrounding death," Marion Griffin, a
physician in Randolph County, wrote that Johnson "was stopping cars
telling people he was the devil and otherwise appearing wild and
probably dangerous."

When officers tried to confront him, he ran and jumped in a truck and
drove west on U.S. 64 heading toward Siler City, the Chatham County
Sheriff's Office reported.

Chatham deputies gave chase, and according to the N.C. Highway
Patrol, which investigated the ensuing accident, Johnson drove more
than 90 mph during the 40-mile chase that went into Randolph County.

Johnson drove over "stop sticks," spiked material that officers throw
or lay across the road to flatten tires, but he kept on driving for
about 18 more miles. Eventually he ran off the side of the road in
Randolph County and into a ditch. Sheriff's deputies reported he
kicked out the driver's side window, got out of the truck and tried
to get away.

As the deputies tried to take control of Johnson, he swung at them
and resisted arrest. A deputy used a taser on him several times, said
Major Gary Blankenship of the Chatham County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies were able to handcuff and restrain Johnson's legs, but he
continued to struggle, Blankenship said. About 20 minutes later,
Johnson began having trouble breathing, according to reports.
Paramedics were already at the scene to check him for injuries from
the accident, and they began to work on him but were not able to
restart his heart.

Thomas Clark, an associate chief medical examiner, wrote there was
evidence of injury from the wreck, including large abrasions on both
cheeks and Johnson's chin. His upper lip was bruised, and both wrists
and ankles had bands of bruising consistent with the history of being
restrained.

There was a 3/8-inch abrasion that may have been from the taser
electrode, Clark wrote. However, Johnson's body and head did not show
any injuries or disease that may have caused his death, the report said.