MAN ON COKE DIES HOURS AFTER TASER USED

OTTAWA -- A violent man high on cocaine died in a Kingston hospital
yesterday, less than three hours after police used a Taser gun to subdue
him. Kingston police said the 43-year-old man died after going into a
seizure at the hospital, 2 1/2 hours after being taken into custody after a
standoff at a residence about 8:30 a.m.

According to police, the man, who was armed with a large knife and baseball
bat, had barricaded himself in a bedroom and was threatening to harm himself.

Officers attempted to disarm him using pepper spray, but it had no effect
on the "drug enraged" man, police said.

A tactical officer then used a Taser to control the man and take him into
custody. The man, whose name is not being released, was detained under the
Mental Health Act and taken to hospital where he was sedated and treated
for a suspected drug overdose.

Police said it appears the man's death is related to the cocaine he had
ingested and not the use of the Taser but the exact cause of death won't be
known until after an autopsy today.

Kingston police Staff Sgt. Brian Begbie said the man required no medical
attention after the arrest.

'NEEDED NO TREATMENT'

"There was an ambulance at scene. He needed no treatment," said Begbie,
describing the man as "lucid and coherent" while being transported to hospital.

Begbie said the man, who was not facing any criminal charges, was talking
with doctors and didn't complain of any injuries relating to the Taser. "He
walked in under his own volition," he added.

While the cause has not yet been determined, the man's death comes as
police use of Tasers has come under increased scrutiny following the deaths
of several people who had been jolted by the 50,000-volt stun guns.

There have been five Taser-related deaths in Canada in the past 18 months
and more than 50 deaths across North America since 2001.