On September 24, 2008, 35 year old Inman Morales died after falling 10 feet (3 m) off a building ledge from being taser

Taser

A Taser is an electroshock weapon that uses electrical current to disrupt voluntary control of muscles. Its manufacturer, Taser International, calls the effects "neuromuscular incapacitation" and the devices' mechanism "Electro-Muscular Disruption technology"...

ed in Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

.

The incident

An emotionally disturbed Iman Morales was standing ten feet off the ground on top of a building ledge, naked, and swinging a long fluorescent tube bulb at NYPD

New York City Police Department

The New York City Police Department , established in 1845, is currently the largest municipal police force in the United States, with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City...

 officers. NYPD ESU commander Lt. Michael Pigott ordered ESU Officer Nicholas Marchesona to tase Morales. The immobilized Morales then fell head-first to the pavement below. Morales received major head trauma and died hours later.

Investigations

An investigation was conducted and the two officers that were involved in the incident, Lt. Pigott and Officer Marchesona were placed off active duty. Lt. Pigott committed suicide.

The Brooklyn district attorney accepted the NYPD's assessment of the incident as a tragic accident with no criminality.

See also

• Taser safety issues
  Taser safety issues
  TASERs represent a safer and less lethal alternative to handgun usage in law enforcement situations. While there have been deaths related to TASER usage, they are generally considered a less lethal form of weapon than the standard issue police sidearm....
  
  
• Taser International
  TASER International
  Taser International, Inc. is a developer, manufacturer, and distributor of the Taser less-lethal electroshock guns in the United States. It is based at Scottsdale, Arizona, United States. Taser is the most common brand of electroshock gun.-History:...
  
   - Taser Manufacturer
• Braidwood Inquiry
  Braidwood Inquiry
  The Braidwood Inquiry was a public inquiry conducted in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, examining the safety of Tasers and the death of Robert Dziekanski. The two-stage inquiry is being conducted by retired Court of Appeal of British Columbia and Court of Appeal of the Yukon Territory Justice...
  
   - Official Canadian enquiry into Tasers and similar devices
• List of people who died after being tasered in Canada
• UCLA Taser incident
  UCLA Taser incident
  The UCLA Taser incident occurred on November 14, 2006, when Mostafa Tabatabainejad, a fourth-year UCLA student, was stunned multiple times with a Taser by campus police, for allegedly refusing to be escorted out of the College Library Instructional Computing Commons lab at Powell Library...
  
  
• University of Florida Taser incident
  University of Florida Taser incident
  On September 17, 2007, U.S. Senator John Kerry addressed a Constitution Day forum at the University of Florida in Gainesville, which was organized by the ACCENT Speakers Bureau, an agency of the university's student government...
  
  
• Robert Dziekański Taser incident
  Robert Dziekanski Taser incident
  Robert Dziekański was a Polish immigrant to Canada who died on October 14, 2007, after being tasered five times by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police at Vancouver International Airport....