Task force investigates Taser death

By Bianca Prieto
Rocky Mountain News
08/07/06

A multiagency police task force is investigating the death of a Louisville man who was tased Friday evening while trying to run from officers.

Ryan Michael Wilson, 22, died shortly after being hit with a Taser stun gun by a Lafayette police officer who was chasing him through a field at about 7 p.m. Friday, according to Lafayette police.

Wilson was pronounced dead at 8 p.m. at Exempla Good Samaritan Medical Center in Lafayette. An autopsy is scheduled for today.

The Louisville Police Department and the Boulder County Drug Task Force were attempting to arrest Wilson on suspicion of growing marijuana in a field near Waneka Lake in Lafayette when he fled, according to the Daily Camera in Boulder.

Lafayette police were advised to be on the lookout for the man who had run into a dirt field near South Boulder Road and U.S. 287 in Lafayette.

The Lafayette officer chased Wilson in his cruiser and was able to get in front of him.

He fired a Taser at the man after he "displayed assaultive behavior" at the officer, according to the police press release.