By Jordan Steffen
The Denver Post
DENVER — Denver police said Tuesday that officers used a Taser on the man who died Monday at the Denver Zoo but that the device was ineffective and he continued to struggle until he was finally held down.
An autopsy will be conducted today to determine the cause of death.
Police were called to the zoo at 5:02 p.m. Monday after the man threatened his girlfriend and attacked a zoo security guard, said Sonny Jackson, spokesman for the Denver Police Department.
After arriving, officers contacted the man, who was acting irrationally, and he repeatedly refused to comply with officers’ commands, police said.
When police attempted to restrain the man, he attacked the officers and zoo security guards — hitting one officer and biting another officer and a security guard. One officer suffered a head injury.