Death Sparks Taser Gun Inquiry

Metro councilman Jamie Isabel is once again calling for Nashville police to stop using taser guns.

Twenty-one year old Patrick Lee of Nashville died at Vanderbilt Hospital Saturday night after police officers tasered him four times. Police officials released a statement saying Lee’s cause of death is unknown.

Lee is the second person in Nashville to die after police used a taser gun. In May, Walter Seats’ died, but in that case, Seats also swallowed cocaine wrapped in plastic – and police say his blocked airway is what caused him to die, not the taser.

Council Isabel already called for a moratorium on tasers once. Now he says two deaths within four months points to a problem, either with the weapon itself, or the police department’s procedures.

“This is a national issue, it’s not a local issue about this taser gun, it’s a national issue. And another thing I want to know about – the procedures. What are the uses? When should you use a taser gun? And I think I’m gonna bring the police chief in front of the public safety committee to answer those questions.”

Police officials have launched two separate investigations into Lee’s death.

On Saturday, a downtown nightclub kicked Lee out for his behavior. Lee reportedly told police that he had taken LSD or PCP. It could take up to six weeks for medical examiners to release toxicology reports showing what substances were in Lee’s blood at the time of his death.