Man Tased By Pittsburgh Police Officer During Arrest Hospitalized In Critical Condition After Suffering Medical Emergency
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A man tased by a Pittsburgh Police officer during an arrest is in critical condition after law enforcement said he suffered a medical emergency.
KDKA's Jennifer Borrasso talked to an eyewitness who watched police tase the man during an arrest in Bloomfield on Wednesday.
From his window, Ryan Cohn said he watched the police officer trying to arrest the man in his front yard on Harriet Street.
"I just know there's a police officer yelling at this man to put his hands behind his back," Cohn said. "The suspect was standing there saying, 'I didn't do anything, I didn't do anything.' He wasn't violent or anything, but he wasn't putting his hands behind his back."
"At one point, the officer said to do it or you are going to get tased," Cohn said.
Cohn said the officer tased the man at least three times.
"I believe the first taser incident was here on the grass," Cohn said.
Cohn said the suspect got up, moved to the street and still did not comply. He was tased, according to Cohn.
"Pretty hard to watch," Cohn said. "His body went stiff and he fell onto the hard pavement, and still on the ground he was not putting his hands behind his back."
At one point, backup arrived. Officers handcuffed the man. Before he went to the Allegheny County Jail, police say he suffered a medical emergency outside the hospital and is in critical condition.
Capri Catania said the whole thing started when her neighbor called the police after the man tried to steal a bicycle from her family.
"Somebody took the bike in my front yard, had ridden it around, came back to my house, smoked a cigarette on the front porch and had been wandering through the neighborhood," Catania said.
"It's really disheartening. All the neighbors are distraught. I'm still in disbelief," Cohn said.
The Pittsburgh Citizen Police Review Board and Allegheny County Police are both investigating the incident.
All of the Zone 5 police officers who responded to the call are on paid administrative leave, which is standard policy, according to Pittsburgh Public Safety.