By Jody Callahan
The Commercial Appeal
A 47-year-old man died in police custody in DeSoto County Tuesday afternoon after an altercation with sheriff’s deputies that included a Taser hit.
Details remained sketchy late Tuesday as sheriff’s officials worked to notify the man’s relatives. They declined to reveal the victim’s name.
“We had a man die in custody following a disturbance that was witnessed by one of our deputies,” DeSoto County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Steve Atkinson said.
According to county coroner Jeff Pounders, a deputy pulled a car over around 4 p.m. for a traffic violation near Red Banks Road in the southeastern part of the county.
The deputy then noticed an altercation outside a nearby home and went to intercede.
“The arrest was trying to be made by the officer, and the individual attacked the officer. He had to fight him off and called for backup,” Pounders said.
During their attempt to subdue the victim, officers used pepper spray and, eventually, a Taser.
“It seemed like (it took) eight or 10 officers to hold him down. He was a big man,” added Pounders, who said the man weighed between 275 and 300 pounds. “Once they got him handcuffed, my understanding was that he quit breathing. We don’t know anything about him. We don’t know if he’s got medical problems or drug abuse.”
After he was subdued, the man was taken by ambulance to Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto, where he died.
Pounders said the man wasn’t beaten by police. “It was a long struggle and fight. They didn’t just hold him down and this happened,” he said.
Reporter William C. Bayne contributed to this story.
Copyright 2006 The Commercial Appeal, Inc.