North Philly man dies after police deploy Taser, strike him with baton during scuffle: Reports

A man died after a Philadelphia police officer used an electric stun gun on him and another hit him with a baton during a scuffle in North Philly early Thursday morning, according to news reports. The weapon’s charge, however, never penetrated the man’s skin, according to reports.

Officers responded to the 900 block of Poplar Street around 5 a.m., on a call of a man yelling in the home, 6abc reported.

Once officers arrived on the scene, the 55-year-old man allegedly approached a female officer in her squad car and grabbed her neck, 6abc reported. The man was struck with a baton by one officer and another officer deployed the Taser on him, according to reports.

He was taken to Hahnemann University Hospital, where he died a short time later. According to the reports, the hospital staff said the Taser had not penetrated the man’s skin. Cause of death was still being determined, and police are investigating.

The man’s name was not released.

Last March, an internal affairs investigation cleared a SEPTA transit officer of wrongdoing, after he deployed a Taser on an aggressive man who was high on PCP. The two struggled for eight minutes, with the officer using his Taser on the man, Omar Lopez, 10 times in that October 2015 confrontation.