BILLINGS – Authorities say a man who was running down a Billings street naked before police subdued him with a stun gun over the weekend died Tuesday afternoon.
Police say officers Tasered the man four times, including once at the county jail. They declined to release his name, but Chief Rich St. John told the Billings Gazette the man died at a local hospital.
A news release from the police department and the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s office says an off-duty sheriff’s deputy was driving when he saw the man run down the street and enter a home late Sunday. The deputy assumed it was not his home, so he jumped out of his van and gave chase.
Authorities say the man came out of the home and drove off in the van, which was still running. The deputy caught up with the vehicle after it hit a parked car, by which time other officers had arrived. The news release says they were forced to shock the man three times with a Taser to get him under control.
The man continued to fight at the jail and was Tasered again. Jail medical staff determined he was stable, but he went into cardiac arrest a short time later, according to the news release.
“We believe that the suspect was using some substance that was making his behavior act the way he was acting,” police Sgt. Kevin Iffland told KTVQ-TV. “So we’re going to have to wait to get the toxicology report back and kinda see what exactly the suspect had in his system at that time.”