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An Alabama man was tased by police officers "until he died" after he was wrongly deemed a burglary suspect, according to lawyers.
36-year-old Jawan “Ja” Dallas died on Sunday (July 2) after Mobile police used a Taser gun against him at a local mobile home park, per Fox 10.
According to a police release, officers were responding to a burglary call and encountered two men, one of which was Dallas. Police said Dallas attempted to flee the scene as they were identifying the two subjects. A struggle then ensued between Dallas and an officer, who used his Taser against him, which initially "did not have any effect" on the 36-year-old, according to police.
Police said Dallas attempted to grab the officer's Taser, prompting him to fire a second time. This is when Dallas fell to the ground, according to police, and experienced a "medical emergency" at the scene. Dallas was transported to a local hospital where he later died.
However, attorney Harry Daniels has refuted the police's account of how the incident unfolded. According to Daniels, an unidentified eyewitness said Dallas wasn't even at the scene of the reported burglary. The witness also stated Dallas went down after the first time he was tased, complaining of chest pains.
Still, "officers tased him again until he stopped moving,” according to Daniels.
“Jawan Dallas wasn’t even near the scene but these officers decided that he was a suspect and tazed him until he died,” Daniels said. “This isn’t speculation. This is an eye-witness statement and if the Mobile Police Department wants to dispute they need to release the body cam video."
“Jawan Dallas wasn’t a threat and shouldn’t have even been a suspect. But they killed him anyway," the attorney added.
The family and attorneys are requesting to see body camera footage of the incident. Mobile police said they are still investigating and have declined to comment on Daniels' allegations.
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