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NEW YORK (CBS) ― The New York Police Department has taken action against two officers involved in the death of an emotionally disturbed man who fell to his death after being shot with a Taser gun in Brooklyn on Wednesday night.
 
The last moments of 35-year-old Inman Morales's life were spent naked and perched on a ledge in Bedford-Stuvyesant. Dozens of people watched, while some took photographs as Morales jumped up and down on top of a 10-foot high roll-down gate as he swung a florescent light bulb towards police officers who were trying to grab him on a nearby fire escape.

An officer on the ground then raised his Taser stun gun and fired a five-second jolt from the 50,000 volt gun, immobilizing him. Morales then fell head-first to his death.


                      

"He wasn't hurting anybody, witness Racquel McDonald said. "They could have just grabbed him and bring him down, but they Tased him instead and he fell to his death and it was real wrong."

Officers had radioed for an inflatable bag as the incident unfolded, but it had not yet arrived at the scene when Morales fell.

"He was there cracking jokes, posing for the cops and everything. The man wasn't a threat to nobody but himself," said witness Kirk Giddings. They had about eight cops that could break the fall. They just moved back."

"We expect the police to say we were wrong. We made a mistake," City Councilman Al Vann, D-Brooklyn, said.

And police did just that. Saying they violated guidelines.

"When possible, the CED (Taser) should not be used ... in situation where the subject may fall from an elevated surface," the NYPD said in a statement.

State Sen. Eric Adams, D-Brooklyn, a former police captain, said police must learn emotionally troubled people must be treated with care.

"They are not criminals. And they need help. And help can never be death," Adams said.

The lieutenant who directed the use of the stun gun was stripped of his gun and badge, and the officer who shocked Morales was placed on desk duty as the investigation continues. Their names were not released.

"None of the ... officers on the scene were positioned to break his fall, nor did they devise a plan in advance to do so," said chief department spokesman Paul Browne.


                      

Morales's mother was standing just a few yards away when her son fell. According to other family members, she called police because her son had a chemical imbalance and she believed he was suffering from a bad reaction to medication.

"The mother was screaming, 'He's gonna fall, he's gonna fall!' And they said 'Ma'am step back.' They wouldn't allow the mother to talk to him," said witness Charlene Gayle-Gordon.
                       

                       

Community activists called on the city to investigate.

"We're not holding the whole NYC police department at fault, but we are questioning the actions of the supervisor of the Emergency Service Unit who took and who shot this young man, not one time but twice," Sharonnie Perry said.

Officers are allowed to use Tasers if they believe emotionally disturbed people are a danger to themselves or to others.

The NYPD receives more than 80,000 calls annually in such circumstances and uses stun guns about 300 times on average. So far this year, stun guns have been used 180 times. No other deaths have been reported.

The department has used Tasers since 1984, but policy previously called for sergeants to store the stun guns in their trunks while patrolling. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly acknowledged that the weapon is considered controversial, and some organizations want the weapons banned.

CBS 2'S Hazel Sanchez and Magee Hickey contributed to this report.

 

(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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