ANOTHER NEEDLESS DEATH: Fleeing man falls from wall, dies after officer uses Taser

DeKalb police and the GBI were on the scene of a police-involved death Thursday evening, Aug. 6 2015. BEN GRAY / BEN.GRAY@AJC.COM

11:05 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 6, 2015

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The incident started with a traffic stop near an apartment complex on Flat Shoals Road.

An officer used his Taser when the man tried to climb an 8-foot wall to get away, police said.

A man died after falling from a wall when an officer used a Taser during a foot chase Thursday night, DeKalb County police said.

Police were involved in a robbery suppression detail when they conducted a traffic stop near the Highlands of East Atlanta complex on Flat Shoals Road, DeKalb Assistant Police Chief Brian Harris said.

During the stop, an officer asked the driver to step out of the vehicle after he said he had a weapon. As the officer secured that weapon, the car’s passenger fled, Harris said.

An unidentified man reacts during a DeKalb County police investigation into another man’s death during a chase Thursday night, Aug. 6, 2015. BEN GRAY / BEN.GRAY@AJC.COM

 

After a short foot chase, an officer used a Taser on the fleeing passenger as he tried to climb an 8-foot wall to get away, Harris said. The man fell over the wall. Officers then went to the inside of the apartment complex and handcuffed the man, who appeared to be unconscious, per police protocol, Harris said.

He said EMS was called and the man was transported to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he died of his injuries.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is handling the case.

DeKalb Police Chief Dr. Cedric Alexander talks on the phone following a police-involved death Thursday evening, Aug. 6 2015. BEN GRAY / BEN.GRAY@AJC.COM

 

This is cellphone video of the incident, which will be turned over to the GBI, Harris said.

A man died during a foot chase at an apartment complex on Flat Shoals Road on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2015, DeKalb County police said. BEN GRAY / BEN.GRAY@AJC.COM