Death Of Bronx Man Tasered Twice By Cops During 911 Call Ruled Homicide
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The medial examiner has ruled the November death of a Bronx man a homicide.
Ariel Galarza was Tasered twice by officers responding to a 911 call reporting an emotionally disturbed person brandishing a knife -- it turned out to be a bottle of hot sauce.
Galarza was shocked twice and went into cardiac arrest.
As 1010 WINS' Sonia Rincon reported, the medical examiner found that Galarza had health problems that contributed, but ruled his death a homicide which was caused -- at least in part -- by another person's actions.
"This death was caused by a heart attack triggered by his being Tasered not once, but twice," attorney Sanford Rubenstein said.
Rubenstein said using a Taser on someone a second time goes against police protocol.
"A grand jury should be convened here, and that's what we're calling on the attorney general's office to do," he said.
The neighbor who called 911 later admitted that she made a mistake in calling 911.
Galarza's sister Mildred wants police held accountable for what happened.
"I would like this sergeant to be arrested," she said.
She is also pursuing civil action, the NYPD would not comment on pending litigation.
