HENRY COUNTY, Ga. — A family is devastated after at least three police officers used Tasers on their son at the same time before he died. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is now investigating 24-year-old Fernando Rodriquez's death.
Officials with the Hampton Police Department said they got a call Friday around 10 p.m. about a naked man walking down Oak Street near a music festival at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Officers said when they approached the man, later identified as Rodriquez, and he would not cooperate with their demands.
Henry County Police Department officers were also called in for backup.
Officials said that moments later, Rodriquez became combative. GBI said at least three officers deployed Tasers on the man. He later died at Piedmont Henry Hospital.
"Officers ended up tasing him. We had multiple officers tased him. He did go into medical distress. They attempted to respond to that. He was taken to the hospital and later he died as a result of that incident," a police spokesperson said.
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A witness who recorded the intense encounter told Channel 2's Tyisha Fernandes that she heard a lot of commotion outside of her home Friday night.
"There’s somebody screaming and there’s a lot of police officers," she said. "I think it's just once again police taking their title and abusing it."
This witness and the victim's family said they don’t understand why three officers had to Taser Rodriquez at the same time.
"His mom actually came to my house and was asking for information," the witness said.
The witness also said Rodriquez was not naked when police first approached him.
"A lot of people are saying he wasn’t," she said.
There are many parts to this investigation. The GBI is looking at the police body cam video. They are conducting an autopsy on Rodriquez, and they're talking to witnesses.
Agents will turn over everything to the district attorney, who will decide what to do next.