Break-in suspect dies shortly after being shot by stun gun

July 2, 2005
JONATHAN JENKINS, TORONTO SUN

ONLY A few days after Niagara police front-line supervisors were issued Tasers, a man died yesterday shortly after being shot with one.

"They told me he went into a house and all that, but they also said they used that Taser gun on him," Apat Foldi, the father of James Foldi, 39, said.

"He was going around in circles and the police didn't want to go near him. So they used this gun on him and boom -- done."

Niagara police said they were called out to Beamsville around 2:30 a.m. after several complaints of a man breaking into homes.

They said they tracked down a suspect in the area and arrested him, then noticed right away he needed medical attention

He was taken to West Lincoln hospital and pronounced dead.

The province's Special Investigations Unit confirmed a Taser was used on Foldi.

"An autopsy is being held as we speak and the pathologist is determining what the cause of death is -- we'll go from there," SIU spokesman Rose Bliss said.

"Obviously, it's also important to note the Taser is an approved, less-than-lethal-use-of-force weapon that the police are authorized to use."

Apat Foldi said he last spoke to his son on Tuesday.

"He was fine, everything was no problem," he said.

He acknowledged his son did have problems with drugs and alcohol and wondered whether that may have played a role.

"They test them on normal people. They don't test people on alcohol or drugs to see if it works on them," Foldi said.

"If someone's drunk or on drugs and they use it on them, maybe it kills them."

However, Foldi stressed he didn't know many details of what happened and was waiting to see the result of the investigation before he came to any conclusion.

"I have to wait to see what's coming out of it," he said.

Niagara cops announced May 13 that front-line supervisors would begin carrying Tasers on routine patrol starting in the last week of June.

Members of Niagara's Emergency Response Unit also carry the weapons, as do tactical teams in Toronto, Peel and Durham.

At least nine people have died after being hit with Tasers in Canada since the weapon was approved.