EAST POINT, Ga. — The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is taking a closer look at a police-involved stun gun shooting that left a man dead.
East Point police said they shot the man more than once with a Taser, but Channel 2 has learned he could have been shot as many as six times or more.
East Point's police chief said he wants to know everything about what led up to the death.
If the allegations and preliminary information prove true, some may be stunned at how many times Gregory Towns was stunned with a Taser before he died, and in what circumstances.
Agent Sherry Lang said the East Point police chief requested the GBI to investigate Towns' April 11 death which occurred as East Point officers dealt with a domestic violence call.
An East Point police statement cites a foot pursuit of nearly a mile.
"They used a Taser on Mr. Towns. Mr. Towns developed medical difficulties and was taken to Atlanta Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead," Lang said.
East Point Police Chief Woodrow Blue told Channel 2's Mark Winne he decided to call in the GBI to investigate all circumstances surrounding Towns' death soon after it occurred.
Blue said he wants an outside look at any in-custody death. He confirmed Towns was stunned with a Taser more than once, but he said he was not prepared to say how many times.
He said the GBI will look into, among other things, allegations that Towns was handcuffed when the Taser was used.
A source told Winne preliminary information is Towns was stunned with the Taser approximately six times, maybe more. The source said officers acknowledged administering the Taser stuns to get Towns to comply with orders to stand up.
The East Point statement said, "As the suspect was being led to waiting police vehicles he began to complain of fatigue. Medical assistance was immediately requested."
The statement also said per policy, officers have been placed on paid administrative leave while an investigation into this matter is conducted.
"[We don't know at this point if the Taser was the cause of the medical difficulties?] No," Lang said.
The Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office will have the final ruling on cause of death. However, a document gives an early assessment by a medical examiner's investigator who said Towns "probably died from yet to be determined natural cause(s) exacerbated by his physical exertion in fleeing the scene."
WSBTV
