California man dies after being tasered

May 28, 2008

Ricardo Manuel Abrahams, 44, Woodland, California

A man died Wednesday [today] after police officers used Taser guns to try and subdue him at a mental health facility. Staff members from the hospital on Kentucky Avenue called police when the man became belligerent and walked out of the building. Police said the man became aggressive when they tried to address him. Officers then used several Taser guns to try and restrain him. When they took the man in custody, officers said they noticed he wasn't breathing. The man died later at Woodland Memorial Hospital.

Update - July 2008: The Yolo County Coroner's Office concluded a man who died in May after being confronted by police did not die from Taser shots. A report released Thursday afternoon stated Ricardo Abrahams, 44, died from "positional asphyxia." Yolo County Sheriff's spokeswoman Michele Wallace said Abrahams' weight, hypertension and obesity contributed to his death. Abrahams weighed more than 300 pounds, Wallace said. The coroner ruled there was no foul play involved. Wallace said the toxicology report on Abrahams' body showed drugs also were not a factor. The report stated Abrahams' bi-polar/schizophrenic disorder was also a significant factor, but did not link it directly to his death.