Denver Injury News

Fill out the form
to speak to an
Injury Lawyer Now.

Suspect Hit By Stun Gun Suffers Cardiac Arrest

November 14, 2005

A man suspected of damaging a recreational vehicle in a Loveland neighborhood is in the hospital after Larimer County Sheriff's Office deputies used a stun gun and other physical force to subdue him.

Shortly before noon, three deputies responded to the area of South St. Louis Avenue and Colorado Highway 402 after receiving a call of a suspicions person who was 'tearing up' an RV, according to spokesman Craig Kern. When deputies arrived on scene, the man, later identified as Timothy Mathis, was uncooperative and bleeding from injuries suffered while breaking out the windows of the RV, Kern said.

Mathis, who was throwing boards and rocks, threatened deputies with a large rock and ignored all verbal commands from the deputies, Kern said. Deputies then used a Taser stun gun on Mathis with no effect, Kern said, before subduing him with batons and other physical control techniques. Mathis went into cardiac arrest after being subdued, but deputies were able to resuscitate him before the ambulance arrived, Kern said. He was transported to McKee Medical Center in Loveland. Deputies suffered minor injuries in the altercation, Kern said.

Based on Mathis' behavior and his resistance to the Taser, it is believed Mathis was under the influence of an illegal stimulant, Kern said. Mathis is under investigation for criminal trespassing, felony menacing and second-degree assault and will be taken into custody upon his release from the hospital, Kern said.