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Miami man dies after being shot with Taser

MIAMI - A man died Friday after struggling with police and being hit with a Taser stun gun, authorities said.

Stanley Wilson, 44, of Miami was found unresponsive in a Miami-Dade County Jail cell and pronounced dead at a hospital, police Detective Nelda Fonticiella said.

An autopsy was to determine the cause of death.

Wilson was found around 12:30 a.m. in a street, dodging traffic and acting irrationally, Fonticiella said.

Police used stun guns to subdue Wilson when he resisted arrest and attempted to strike the two officers, Fonticiella said.

"He started swinging his arms around with one handcuff on," she said.

Wilson was then transported to the Miami-Dade County Jail to be booked on charges of resisting arrest with violence and battery on a law enforcement officer.

Jail staff physically restrained Wilson and placed him in a cell when he again became violent, Fonticiella said. After that, he became unresponsive in the cell.

The Miami-Dade Police Department's homicide unit is investigating. It was not immediately known whether Wilson had been using drugs.

About 100 people have died nationally since 1999 after being shocked with Tasers, including recent deaths in Pensacola, Delray Beach, Hollywood and Naples. Many of those who died were drug users.

Taser Inc. says its guns are a nonlethal alternative to shooting dangerous suspects. The devices shoot 50,000 volts of electricity into a target.

[Last modified May 8, 2005, 00:44:03]