Sonoma man dies after shot by Taser

Published: Thursday, Dec 8, 2005

Sonoma man dies after shot by Taser
Domestic violence suspect fought with 4 officers

By BOB NORBERG
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

A Sonoma man died Wednesday after being shot with a Taser stun gun while struggling with police responding to a domestic violence call placed by his mother.

The man was identified as Michael Tolosko, 31, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department.

His mother, Alaine Tolosko, called 911 at 2:17 a.m. requesting help controlling her son, who she reported was not taking his medication.

Tolosko and his mother lived in a duplex on Verano Avenue, down a driveway in a neighborhood of well-kept homes on the edge of Sonoma.

"It's very sad," said Carolyn Domingue, a neighbor. "This is really a quiet neighborhood."

The death may fuel the debate over the use of Tasers, hand-held weapons that can deliver 50,000 volts of electricity and can incapacitate a person.

Critics say there have been more than 70 deaths following Taser shocks in the United States and Canada since 2001. Only one death has been directly attributed to the stun gun, and one independent study found that, used in short bursts, Tasers didn't affect the heart rhythms of healthy people.

With Wednesday's incident, there have been two deaths in Sonoma County since Tasers began being used by local officers in mid-2003, both in the past six months.

The first death was in July and involved Santa Rosa police, who used a Taser six times to subdue a man who had been described as on drugs and acting delusional. The cause of his death was determined to be a condition called "drug-induced excited delirium" rather than use of the Taser.

Police agencies defend Tasers, saying they allow them to avoid using more extreme measures.

"It has been very successful. We have them in the jail, and our goal is to equip all of our officers with them," Sheriff's Lt. Roger Rude said Wednesday. "It is not a panacea, it is another tool in the toolbox and it is the alternative to using lethal force."

Rude said that since Tasers were introduced, deputies used them 106 times before Wednesday, resulting in six minor injuries.

Wednesday's incident involved two Sonoma police officers, who are sheriff's deputies because the city contracts with the county for police services, and two deputies from the Sheriff's Department Valley of the Moon substation.

Sonoma Officers Patrick Sharp and Travis Koeppel arrived at the duplex, heard a commotion inside that sounded like furniture breaking and confronted Tolosko in the garage, Rude said.

Tolosko had a history of contacts with law enforcement officers and had mental health issues, Rude said.

He said that in the ensuing fight, the officers used a Taser on Tolosko, but he continued to fight, even after being handcuffed.

He said it took the four officers to subdue Tolosko. They also used a "maximum restraint" nylon cord to bind Tolosko's feet to a belt around his waist to keep him from kicking.

Rude said the four officers followed department protocol in the use of the restraints, putting Tolosko on his side and monitoring his condition.

"The guy got quiet and stopped breathing, and then they called the ambulance and started mouth-to-mouth," Rude said.

Tolosko was taken to Sonoma Valley Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Sharp suffered facial cuts and an injury to his arm and wrist. He was treated at Sutter Medical Center in Santa Rosa.

Sharp, Koeppel and Deputies Rick Bostic and James Mauro were placed on paid administrative leave while the incident is investigated by Santa Rosa police. The Sheriff's Department will conduct its own internal review.