Cocaine killed man, not stun gun: doc

October 2, 2007
GLENN KAUTH, Edmonton Sun

It was cocaine, and not a police stun gun, that killed an Edmonton man on Christmas Eve two years ago, a fatality inquiry heard yesterday. As the hearing opened, Dr. Bernard Bannach, the province’s assistant chief medical examiner, reiterated his earlier conclusion that 33-year-old Alesandro Fiacco died of a cocaine overdose and not from four shots from a stun gun on Dec. 24, 2005.

Fiacco was hit with the controversial shock weapon after police were called to deal with him as he wandered into traffic near 113 Street and 76 Avenue that day. He died in an ambulance several minutes later, and relatives have since complained police should have done more to help him as he stammered in a drug-induced state rather than shooting him with the stun gun. At the time, Fiacco believed bees were attacking him, according to witness accounts.

Bannach, however, said that when an electrical current kills someone, it causes a heart attack within three to 15 seconds. In Fiacco’s case, it took 12 minutes after he was zapped for him to go into cardiac arrest. “In this case, the cocaine levels are very, very high,” Bannach said, noting Fiacco had taken enough of the drug to kill him.

Fiacco’s death turned up no evidence of criminal wrongdoing by police, Det. Mark Antsey, who investigated the case, told the hearing yesterday. Under questioning, however, he admitted he had no experience or training with stun guns himself and couldn’t explain police policies on handling people who are mentally ill. “I wasn’t convinced (Fiacco) was mentally ill,” Antsey told the inquiry.

Fatality inquiries are automatically held whenever someone dies in police custody. The presiding judge determines the cause of death and may make recommendations for avoiding similar cases but does not assign blame.