COCAINE BLAMED FOR DEATH OF MAN SHOT WITH TASER

STUART -- The first death in Martin County involving a Taser stun gun was
caused by cocaine poisoning, according to a preliminary ruling issued
Monday by the Treasure Coast Medical Examiner's Office.

"The Taser had nothing at all to do with his death," Medical Examiner Roger
Mittleman said.

Brian Lichtenstein, 31, had been smoking crack cocaine for three days
before Martin County sheriff's deputies found him, naked and belligerent,
Friday night in woods near Stuart's Riverland Mobile Home Park, according
to the sheriff's office report.

Lichtenstein refused to cooperate and was yelling, "Leave me alone, just
let me die," before he was shot in the back of his shoulder with the Taser,
Detective Mike Dougherty said.

Lichtenstein dropped to one knee and was shocked again, Dougherty said. The
second shock sent Lichtenstein to the ground.

But the Port Salerno man got up after a few seconds and continued running
through the woods, Dougherty said.

When Lichtenstein was taken into custody later -- deputies said they pulled
him from under bushes by his legs -- only one prong from the Taser gun was
found in his back. Tasers shoot two prongs that can deliver an electric
shock of up to 50,000 volts. Both prongs are needed to deliver the jolt.

Medical examination Monday did not find any marks from the Taser prongs,
but Mittleman said that is not unusual.

The probes "are teeny tiny," he said. "And it's really beside the point. He
died from cocaine."

A Palm Beach Post analysis this year showed that, since 2000, more people
have died in Florida after being shot by Tasers -- 27 -- than in any other
state.

Of those 27 deaths, 17 people had traces of cocaine in their body.

"People have been dying from (cocaine) long before Tasers were invented,"
Martin County Sheriff Bob Crowder said. "I know there are folks out there
who would love to implicate the Taser as the cause, but the evidence is
just not there. If the Taser was not used, the death would have occurred
anyway."

About 90 percent of Martin County deputies carry Taser guns, which they
fired 44 times from May 2002 to December 2004, according to sheriff
department records.

Although sheriff's office rules do not limit the number of times someone
can be shocked with a Taser, a person must be showing some type of
resistance to warrant a shot.

"This is the type of behavior Tasers were intended for," Crowder said.

Mittleman also rebutted claims from Lichtenstein's mother, Rosemarie
Lichtenstein, that her son also had two broken arms.

"I see no sign of any kind at all that would indicate a fracture,"
Mittleman said. "But we're going to do some X-rays to settle that issue."

Mittleman said he did find "many" abrasions and bruises on Lichtenstein's
back, which were consistent with someone running through bushes and being
combative with officers.

Lichtenstein also was shocked three times with a Taser on June 17 by
Riviera Beach police officers after he was arrested for driving a stolen
vehicle. Lichtenstein was arrested several times in the past 10 years,
according to Florida Department of Law Enforcement records, and struggled
with a drug problem, his mother said.

Lichtenstein's wife, Angie, said the two had been smoking crack cocaine
since Wednesday when they ran out of gas in front of the mobile home park.

Lichtenstein became paranoid that police were chasing him and he ran into
the park, his wife said.

A resident in the mobile home park called 911 when she heard Lichtenstein
groaning outside her home.

In addition to his wife, Lichtenstein is survived by a 15-year-old son and
3-year-old daughter.