Tasered man died of cocaine poisoning: examiner

June 7, 2006
Edmonton Journal

A man who died on Christmas Eve after being Tasered by city police Edmonton succumbed to cocaine poisoning, the medical examiner has found. In a report released today, the medical examiner has determined Alesandro Fiacco, 33, died from acute cocaine toxicity.

Witnesses said Fiacco had been Tasered by police around 3 p.m. last Dec. 24 at 113th Street and 75th Avenue.

Police had been trying to subdue the man, who had been acting erratically by yelling and flailing his arms in traffic.

A statement from police today said numerous attempts were made to bring him under control. When those attempts failed, an officer used his conductive energy device - or Taser - to subdue him.

He was transferred to an ambulance and taken to hospital. He suffered health problems along the way and was pronounced dead on arrival.

Police haven't said whether the shock from the Taser, used to disable troublesome people with short bursts of high-voltage electricity, contributed to the toxic effect of the high quantity of cocaine in his system.

The provincial Justice Department has ordered a fatality inquiry.

His death and other concerns about Tasers prompted police Chief Mike Boyd to review the department's policy on the devices, which have been the source of controversy since 2001 when Edmonton became the first Canadian force to start using them.

The department adopted a new policy in March requiring officers to report Taser use immediately. Each use of the devices will be investigated by a senior officer.