Preliminary toxicology results indicated the man had cocaine in his system
By JOYCE TSAI
The Kansas City Star
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The family of a man who died after Kansas City police officers used a Taser on him struggled with his death Saturday.
Jermaine Thompson, 36, of Mexico, Mo., died Friday after a confrontation with police, who suspected he was selling drugs at Kansas City motel.
Thompson’s mother, Faye Hill, said she wanted to grieve and find comfort before dealing with the cause of her son’s death.
“I just know he is in God’s hands,” she said. “I just want to find out what did happen. … I will be looking into that after I get my son buried.”
Capt. Rich Lockhart, a Kansas City Police Department spokesman, said officers were called to the Royal Inn at Admiral Boulevard and the Paseo about 7 p.m. Friday to investigate a report of a man going room to room trying to sell drugs.
One officer saw the man and tried to talk to him, but he ran. Lockhart said the officer caught up to him and they became involved in “a physical confrontation.”
“The officer tried unsuccessfully to use a Taser on the man,” Lockhart said. “Only one probe made contact, and two probes are necessary to have an effect.”
Other officers arrived to assist and used a Taser in a “drive stun” mode to try to control the man. This involves placing the Taser in direct contact with the man’s body, and probes are not necessary.
After a brief struggle, officers were able to handcuff the man. Lockhart said the man was sweating and at one point appeared to have passed out.
The officers called for an ambulance, and the man was taken to a hospital, where he died about 40 minutes later. Preliminary toxicology results indicated the man had cocaine in his system, Lockhart said. An autopsy was planned.
Thompson’s stepfather, Donald Hill, said the Boone County sheriff knocked on his door in Columbia about 1:30 a.m. Saturday to notify the family of Thompson’s death.
The officer told him and Faye Hill that a Taser was used on Thompson, but authorities didn’t yet know what caused his death.
“They said they had to control him and the only way they could control him was a Taser, and he died 45 minutes later,” Donald Hill said.
Kansas City police assured him that there would be a full investigation, he said.
“They said four or five things could have caused his death, but it would take about three weeks to determine,” he said. “They couldn’t pinpoint it.”
Thompson’s wife, Tammy Thompson, said her husband had a troubled history with drugs. The couple married in October, but in April she filed for divorce. Her husband became distraught, she said.
A month before the divorce filing, Jermaine Thompson was charged with first-degree assault in Mexico, Mo., in an attack on a man, Tammy Thompson said.
Last week, days before his death, a warrant was issued for his arrest in the assault case, according to the Missouri courts Web site.
His death shocked her.
“I hate what happened,” Thompson said. “... But I’m not blaming anybody.”
Copyright 2007 Kansas City Star