State police are still investigating a deadly incident involving a stun gun at the East Hartford Police Department.
Officers were trying to process a local man Sunday when they say he got combative and tried to escape.
One of the officers hit 22-year-old Jose Maldonado with a stun gun. According to the police, he went into medical distress. He died a short time later at Hartford Hospital.
It’s not clear if the electric shock caused the man’s death, but the incident has provoked calls for tougher regulations on stun guns in Connecticut.
The NAACP and American Civil Liberties Union said at least 14 people in recent years have died after being tasered by Connecticut police.
They believe Maldanado’s death was preventable.
At a news conference on Tuesday, the two groups urged legislators to pass Taser safety reform. Similiar calls for regulations were squashed in the Connecticut legislature in years past.
Andrew Schneider of the ALCU of CT is demanding statewide policies on stun gun training, mandatory reporting for Taser use and the establishment of stun gun guidlines.
” Even if Tasers are not guns, if used in the wrong way, they can be lethal and we want to make sure that the people of Connecticut are protected from the wrongful use of these weapons,” said Schneider.
Members of the NAACP and ACLU requested a meeting with East Hartford’s chief of police after Tuesday’s news conference.
They said they want to find out more about the department’s policy on taser use.
The groups said they are also concerned about the high number of minorities killed after police stun gun use. They’re asking for an emergency meeting with Connecticut’s Black and Latino caucus.