Man struck by officer's Taser dies at Simi Valley Hospital
By Kyle Jorrey kjorrey@theacorn.com

Simi Valley Police spokesperson Sgt. David Livingstone told the Simi Valley Acorn this week that the department had begun an internal investigation into how a hit from an officer's Taser gun might have led to the death of 33yearold resident Raymundo Garcia.

Garcia was taken off life support last Wednesday at Simi Valley Hospital, eight days after he was stunned by an officer for allegedly refusing to get out of his vehicle following a slow-speed pursuit that ended with Garcia crashing into the backyard of a house in the 800 block of Chelsea Court.

It is the first occasion in which someone has died after being stunned with a Taser since the department began using the "nonlethal weapons" in August.

Livingstone said the investigation would be handled just as any officer-related shooting would be.

"Any time we use force against anyone we investigate it," Livingstone said. "And whenever (a person) dies as a result of something- we don't know what in particular- we investigate that in a detailed fashion."

The Ventura County Medical Examiner's office performed an autopsy on Garcia last Thursday, May 24, but coroners have yet to release an official cause of death, pending toxicology and microscopy tests, said Michael Tellez, a deputy medical examiner.

Tellez gave no timeline on when the results of those tests would be available.

According to Simi Valley police, dispatch received several citizen complaints on the night of May 15 of a vehicle driving recklessly in the area of Sequoia Avenue and Pine View Drive. Officers in the area observed the vehicle at Fitzgerald Road and Sequoia and initiated a traffic stop but the driver allegedly refused to yield to the officer's overhead lights and sirens.

After what Livingstone described as a "slow-speed pursuit," Garcia allegedly crashed his car into the backyard of a residence. At this point, the sergeant said, officers approached Garcia's car to make an arrest, but he refused to exit the vehicle. After he became what a police report described as "combative and aggressively resistant," one officer decided to use his Taser model X26E on Garcia to gain control of the situation.

At that point, Garcia reportedly went into cardiac arrest and had to be transported to Simi Valley Hospital. He was later charged with felony evading and vandalism, as well as possession of cocaine.

Police have already said they suspect drug use may have played a factor in Garcia's death, but they, like the county coroner, are awaiting toxicology results.

Nevertheless, Livingstone said the officer involved will have to prove the use of the Taser was justified.

Livingstone brought up several times the fact that several Simi Valley officers volunteered to be stunned by the new Taser guns last year when the department was issued them.

"We would never use something against our own officers that had the potential to cause them harm or death," he said. "Think about it- officers don't volunteer to be hit with a baton or shot with a gun."