TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Tallahassee Police are explaining why news of a man's death was made public one week after he was tased.
TPD says officers found 20-year-old Aaron Parker naked, bleeding and acting unpredictably.
While police tried to stop him from running into traffic, Parker hit an officer. Based on his actions, police tased him.
The incident happened on Feb. 9.
Police headed to the parking lot of the Burger King on West Tennessee Street. Parker was lying in the middle of the road. He was sweating and bleeding.
After police tased him, Parker kept resisting, so emergency personnel gave him sedatives. Parker died on the evening of Feb. 16, which is when TPD shared news with the public.
"Because it was a medical situation, we did not initially do a press release or anything, because we normally don't do press releases for medical issues or every time we have a tasing," said Officer Damon Miller, Jr. with the Tallahassee Police Department. "Because Mr. Parker passed, that changed the dynamics of things, as far as the investigation is concerned as well. So, it is an ongoing investigation, and we will provide updates as soon as we can."
Police described Parker's behavior as "excited delirium." That's when someone suddenly shows signs of aggression, paranoia and violence towards others.
Right now, there is no evidence to connect the tasing with Parker's cause of death. We're still waiting on the autopsy results. The case is now in the hands of TPD's violent crimes unit.
