PITTSBURGH -- The Allegheny County medical examiner said there are no signs that Swissvale police officers used excessive force on 37-year-old Andre Thomas, who died after they subdued him with a Taser.

Also, District Attorney Stephen Zappala said the Monroeville man showed typical signs of "excited delirium" -- a state of irrational behavior with heavy breathing and elevated blood pressure which can be triggered by cocaine and can end in death.

The official cause of death is undetermined, pending toxicology test results -- but Zappala said all indications suggest police followed department procedures while confronting Thomas late Monday night on Hawthorne Avenue.

Swissvale police had gotten eight 911 calls describing a man yelling and screaming in the streets, "pounding on their front doors saying, 'They're trying to kill me, they're trying to kill me,'" according to Zappala.

After searching the area for suspicious people and finding nothing, the responding officers turned their attention to Thomas.

"She (one of the officers) orders him down on the ground. He initially goes down. She unholsters her Taser, and he starts to get up," Zappala said. "As Mr. Thomas runs towards these two officers, between them, the female officer tasers Mr. Thomas in his left buttocks and left upper back."

Thomas was hit with the Taser twice more, each shot lasting for five seconds, Zappala said.

He eventually sat up but was incoherent with restricted, unresponsive pupils. Then, he vomited and his pulse dropped, Zappala said.

"They believe -- the medics and police -- they think they have a drug overdose," he said.

Some witnesses told WTAE Channel 4 Action News that an officer stomped on Thomas after he had been stunned with a Taser.

"You had two officers that really brutally stomped him out," neighbor Rose Adams said. "One had his hand balled up tight. He roared back, and he punched him with all his might. He turned around, he grabbed his wrist and started shaking his hand. The guy's body jumped off the ground. The next thing I seen, the guy was regurgitating. A few seconds later, the last breath I believe he took was his leg shaking, and then there was no more movement."

Zappala said three other witnesses have come forward with consistent stories that there was no excessive violence on the part of police.

Bill Crowley, an FBI spokesman in Pittsburgh, said the agency will monitor the county's investigation into Thomas' death and has also launched its own preliminary investigation.

FBI agents have gone door to door on the street where Thomas was arrested, collecting witness accounts of the incident.

Thomas' family has hired an attorney and is seeking an independent autopsy.

"We have to wait for the final autopsy report and toxicology report, and we're also going to do an individual investigation," said Thomas' father, Dennis.

Previous Stories:
Protesters March To Swissvale To Honor Taser Victim’s Death
FBI Looking Into Monroeville Man's Police Tasering, Death

---

Related Links:

• More Allegheny County News
• Add Us To Your iGoogle Or My Yahoo Page
• Download Our Free Desktop Alert For Breaking News

---