Pubdate: Sun, 07 Aug 2005 Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA) Copyright: 2005 San Jose Mercury News Contact: http://www.mercurynews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/390 Author: Paul Rogers Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) MAN SHOT WITH TASER BY POLICE DIES Three Deaths In Northern California Last Week After Stun-Gun Shootings A 33-year-old East Bay man with a history of drug use and criminal behavior has died after being shot by Fremont police with a Taser. Eric Mahoney, of Alameda, died at Washington Hospital in Fremont on Wednesday night. Fremont police shot Mahoney with a Taser, a hand-held device intended to temporarily immobilize criminals by emitting an electric shock, on July 29 as he attempted to climb a wall near the Extended Stay America motel in Fremont to escape police. The Alameda County coroner's office has conducted an autopsy and as of Saturday evening was waiting for toxicology test results to determine what contributed to or caused his death. Fremont police reported that they found about two ounces of methamphetamine in the car driven by Mahoney's girlfriend and have said they believed that Mahoney was high on some kind of stimulant. Police found what they believe to be stolen mail, credit cards and checks in Mahoney's motel room, and say he was a parolee at large for a previous burglary. The death was one of three last week among Northern California residents shot by Tasers, prompting some civil rights groups to call for more restrictions on their use. The devices have been seen as an alternative to using guns on fleeing suspects or suspects who attack police. Generally, authorities defend their use. Some police have said that a condition known as "excited delirium," that can occur when a person is on methamphetamine, cocaine, PCP or other drug, or is suffering mental illness, can cause heart stoppage. Critics say police have in some instances overused Tasers, shooting suspects multiple times, for example, with up to 50,000 volts of electricity. Brian Patrick O'Neil, 33, of San Jose, died Monday after police used a Taser on him during a confrontation in which they say he broke into a private home and fought with a man inside. Also, Dwayne Zachary, 44, of Foothill Farms, near Sacramento, died late Thursday after he was shot several times with a stun gun during a fight with five Sacramento sheriff's deputies late Thursday. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth