The New York Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation has opened inquiries into three deaths involving police use of Tasers in the past three months, including a Queens case in which the medical examiner determined a Taser was a contributing factor in the death of a man during an encounter with New York Police Department officers.
The investigations were announced in separate releases from Attorney General Letitia James’ office following incidents involving law enforcement officers in New York City and elsewhere in the state. The cases come amid broader national scrutiny of deaths following police use of conducted-energy weapons.
One of the highest-profile incidents involves the death of Adrian Cevallos following an encounter with NYPD officers in Queens on March 16.
According to the attorney general’s office, officers responded to a 911 call reporting a “man in mental distress” near Ditmars Boulevard and 31st Street in Astoria. The office said responding officers encountered Cevallos “acting erratically in the roadway.”
Officers reportedly attempted to restrain Cevallos before deploying Tasers during the encounter.
“During the encounter, officers deployed their Tasers multiple times,” the attorney general’s office said in a release announcing the publication of body camera footage tied to the investigation.
Cevallos “became unresponsive” after the encounter and was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead, said the AG’s office.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the cause of death as “cardiac dysrhythmia during restraint and conducted energy device use,” with “conducted energy device use” referring to Taser deployment, NY1 reported.
NY1 also reported that body camera footage released by the attorney general’s office shows officers repeatedly instructing Cevallos to comply before Tasers were deployed during the struggle.
“The Attorney General’s Office released body camera footage Wednesday showing the moments before and after NYPD officers repeatedly used Tasers on Adrian Cevallos,” NY1 reported.
The station further reported that the incident has prompted questions about NYPD Taser deployment policies and use-of-force procedures in encounters involving individuals experiencing mental distress.
In a separate April release, the attorney general’s Office of Special Investigation announced it had opened another investigation into a death involving police use of a Taser.
Law enforcement officers responded to an incident involving a person experiencing a mental health crisis, according to the office. Officers used a Taser during the encounter, and the individual later died. The office said the investigation remains ongoing.
The attorney general’s office also announced a third investigation into a separate death following a police encounter involving Taser deployment. In that case, officers responded to a disturbance call before the situation escalated and a Taser was used. The individual later died after being transported for medical treatment.
The attorney general’s office has not announced findings in any of the three investigations.
Under New York law, the Office of Special Investigation is required to review incidents in which police officers, peace officers or correction officers may have caused or contributed to a death.
More than 1,000 people nationwide died following police Taser use between 2001 and 2018, according to publicly reported incidents compiled by the Grand Canyon Times. The report noted that many cases involved additional factors such as physical restraint, drug intoxication, medical emergencies or prolonged struggles with officers.
In some cases, medical examiners identified Taser use as a contributing factor in deaths, while in others the devices were used during broader use-of-force encounters preceding fatalities.
Taser devices used by police departments across the United States are primarily manufactured by Axon Enterprise, a Scottsdale, Arizona-based public safety technology company formerly known as TASER International. The company also produces body cameras, digital evidence management systems and other law enforcement software used by agencies nationwide.
