Woman Dies After Being Handcuffed, Stunned With Taser By Police

Tuesday, May 22nd 2007, 10:59 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ A mentally ill homeless woman died after she was arrested outside a shelter and stunned with a Taser while she was on the ground in handcuffs, authorities and witnesses said.

An autopsy was performed on Milisha Thompson, 35, but her cause of death has not been determined pending toxicology tests, police Sgt. Paco Balderrama said Tuesday.

One witness, Edwin Davis, said onlookers began yelling, ``You killed her! You killed her!'' as Thompson slipped out of consciousness during Saturday's confrontation outside the City Rescue Mission.

But Balderrama said Thompson repeatedly kicked and attacked officers, even after being stunned with the Taser.

After she lost consciousness, officers began CPR and she was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Two officers involved in the incident were placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation.

The woman's husband said she suffered from schizophrenia and might have been having an episode of the illness, causing her to feel threatened. Marvell Thompson said he and his wife were homeless and living at the rescue mission while recovering from drug addictions.

Police found a pipe used for smoking crack cocaine in Milisha Thompson's possession at the time of her death, Balderrama said.

A surveillance camera at the mission captured most of the incident, but police would not release the tape because the investigation is continuing, Balderrama said.

Tasers subdue suspects by delivering an electrical jolt through two barbed darts. In a report last year, the human rights group Amnesty International said it had logged more than 150 deaths across the country related to police stun guns. But the makers of the devices say they save thousands of lives because officers can subdue suspects quickly without bullets.