Death Of Jim Rogers, Man Tased By Pittsburgh Police, Ruled Accident By Medical Examiner
By: KDKA-TV News Staff
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - The death of Jim Rogers, a man tased by Pittsburgh police, has been ruled an accident by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner.
Dr. Karl Williams' office released the results of an autopsy Monday, ruling the manner of death an accident and the cause acute global hypoxic ischemic injury of the brain, which can result from cardiac arrest.
The medical examiner's office said there are five manners of death recognized by the commonwealth: homicide, suicide, accident, natural and undetermined. An accidental death "is death that occurs as the result of an event with unintentional consequences," the medical examiner's office said.
Rogers, 54, died after being tased several times by police when they said he became "non-compliant" during a call for a suspicious person involved in a theft in October.
An internal Pittsburgh police review board found "a series of procedural failures" contributed to Rogers' death. Eight officers, including two supervisors, are facing discipline.
According to the call logs, the first officer came on the scene in Bloomfield at 10:29 a.m. on Oct. 13 and placed Rogers under arrest at 10:36 a.m. But police didn't begin transporting Rogers until 10:57 a.m., arriving at UPMC Mercy Hospital at 11:13 a.m., some 37 minutes after the arrest.
During the arrest, Rogers can be heard on the tape complaining of being hurt. Though EMS was summoned, it's not clear if he received medical attention on the scene.
EMS did not transport Rogers. Instead, officers took him in their cruiser, bypassing West Penn Hospital four blocks away. The logs indicate officers planned to take him directly to the county jail, but Rogers went into cardiac arrest en route and they diverted to UPMC Mercy Hospital. They met up with the medics outside the hospital.
The medical examiner said it provided its report to Allegheny County police and the District Attorney's Office.
"Dr. Williams has always been objective in his medical analysis. It is obvious that Mr. Rogers' interaction with the police is central to a determination of criminal culpability in connection with the cause of death. As is usual, such a determination will require further scrutiny and explanation by Dr. Williams and his office," a spokesperson for the DA's office said.