N.Y. Police Chief Says Dead Suspect May Have Suffered `Excited Delirium`

Nov. 01--COLONIE -- The town police chief said his officers were justified to use three Tasers against an out-of-control weight lifter at Gold's Gym in Latham on Monday morning. The man died after the confrontation.

Witnesses told police that Chad Brothers, 32, of Troy, was acting strange when he arrived at the gym around 5:45 a.m., using exaggerated sounds as he worked out. Around 6:18 a.m., havoc broke out when Brothers fell or jumped off an elliptical machine.

Brothers went over to a treadmill where another man was working out, increased the speed of the machine and punched the man in the face, said Colonie Police Chief Steven H. Heider.

An officer was called to the Troy-Schenectady Road gym. Meanwhile, Brothers, who police described as 6 feet 1, about 230 pounds and very muscular, pushed over several universal weight machines, each weighing about 700 pounds. Brothers destroyed a display case and threw 45-pound dumbbells. He left the building twice and returned, police said. Brothers then went into an office, where he ripped computers from the wall and toppled file cabinets, Heider said.

A female police officer arrived and ordered Brothers to stand down, but Brothers threw boxes at her. She discharged a Taser at him, which latched to his chest and upper leg, Heider said. The Taser brought Brothers to the ground ,and as the officer was putting him in handcuffs, Heider said, Brothers stood up with the officer on his back.

At one point, Brothers grabbed the Taser from the officer and appeared to shock himself, Heider said. Two other officers arrived and both used Tasers against Brothers. Heider estimated that Brothers was shocked four to five times at three to five seconds each time. One officer also struck him on the shoulder with a collapsible baton.

"This was a whirlwind of a battle in a confined space," Heider said. He estimated it lasted less than two minutes.

Other gym patrons helped police get Brothers into custody. Police needed two sets of handcuffs to restrain Brothers because of his size. One minute after being placed into custody, Brothers apparently went into cardiac arrest, police said.

The officers and a gym patron -- an off-duty firefighter -- began CPR and attached a defibrillator before the arrival of emergency medical personnel, Heider said. Brothers was still breathing and alive, so the defibrillator did not administer a shock, he said. Brothers was pronounced dead when he arrived at 7:14 a.m. at Albany Medical Center Hospital.

The two male officers and one gym patron suffered minor injuries that did not require medical attention, police said. Heider declined to release the officers' names.

Video cameras on the first floor captured Brothers toppling gym equipment, but the confrontation with police was not on tape.

Heider said he believes the officers were justified in using Tasers and baton on Brothers, saying they did their best to verbally handle the situation and use the least force possible. The officers have a paid day off while the incident is investigated by Colonie police, State Police and the Albany County district attorney's office.

An autopsy, including a toxicological study, will be performed Tuesday. Police requested that Brothers be tested for performance-enhancing drugs.

Heider suggested excited delirium may have contributed to Brothers' death. Excited delirium is a controversial syndrome in which someone is in an extremely agitated state.

The gym is in a strip mall near a Kmart store east of the Latham Circle. A car that police said belonged to Brothers was towed from the scene. Police also planned to search Brothers' home.

A statement from Gold's Gym Capital District said, "We would like to extend our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of this individual. We are cooperating fully with local authorities to expedite and resolve their investigation."

The incident is the second police-related death in Colonie -- voted the safest town in America by CQ Press in 2009 and 2010 -- in four months. In July, 21-year-old Agostino Jubrey was shot and killed during a confrontation with police after he fired at officers in the driveway of his Leach Avenue home.

Two weeks ago, the New York Civil Liberties Union released a report claiming police across the state chronically misuse Tasers. The report, which reviewed 851 incident reports involving Tasers from eight police departments, including Albany and Guilderland, but not Colonie, said that Tasers applied to subjects with weak hearts can greatly increase the risk of cardiac arrest.

Multiple and prolonged Taser shocks can increase the risk of serious injury or death from a Taser, as can shocks applied directly to a person's chest. A single shock from a Taser can contain up to 50,000 volts of electricity.

Brendan Lyons contributed to this report.

Copyright 2011 - Times Union, Albany, N.Y.