Aussie police tasered man '14' times before death

Roberto Laudisio Curti, 21, had shared a tab of LSD with two friends in the hours before the incident in March and the court heard that he was acting erratically before the police pursuit began.

“There were a total of 14 discharges applied to Roberto,” said counsel assisting the inquest Jeremy Gormly, adding many of the Taser shots did not hit him.

Police gave chase after Curti, who was unarmed, allegedly stole two packets of biscuits from a city convenience store. In his paranoid state, the young Brazilian showed great strength in evading them.

The court heard police used pepper spray, a baton and other force before deploying the Tasers, which use an electrical charge to incapacitate a person. As more officers joined the pursuit Curti was eventually pinned to the ground. Shortly afterward it was noted he was not breathing.

In the days after the incident, police defended their use of the Tasers but the death prompted calls from Brazil's consul in Sydney for an explanation.

Curti's brother-in-law Mike Reynolds told journalists that the family, some of whom traveled from overseas for the inquest, were hoping for answers.

“He was a 21-year-old young man with a bright future and his death was simply a pointless waste of life,” he said.

In a statement to national broadcaster ABC, Curti's family in Brazil said it was watching proceedings closely.

“The inquest is very important for all of the extended family and we trust that we'll get the full truth as to what happened on that awful evening,” the statement said.

SHARE CLOSE
Blogger		Google+
Live Journal		Plurk
Stumble Upon

Tweet

	PREVIOUS ARTICLE
	Singapore state-linked union group sacks executive after racist Facebook post

NEXT ARTICLE
South Korea and Japan leaders swap 'cool' diplomatic advice

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email

Submit