A Taser stun-gun blast, a congenitally narrow coronary artery and extreme physical exertion killed a 22-year-old man who ran from Lafayette police last month, the Boulder County coroner said Thursday.
But the father of Ryan Michael Wilson said he is skeptical of the coroner’s report that concluded his son had a congenitally narrow artery in his heart that contributed to his death.
“He had never shown any kind of indication at all that there might be a problem with his heart, and he had numerous physical exams,” Jack Wilson said. “I’ve heard of athletes who passed out on the basketball court and died from heart problems, but my son was hit by a Taser, and that’s what killed him, in my opinion.”
Steve Tuttle, vice president of communications for Taser International, said the company was disappointed in the coroner’s finding. The finding is contradicted by medical, electrical or engineering sciences as well as demonstrated in approximately 500,000 human exposures, he said in a written statement.
Ryan Wilson died Aug. 4 after a Lafayette police officer shot him with a Taser after a foot chase. There was a physical confrontation between Wilson and the officer, but police did not release details.
Coroner Thomas Faure ruled that the death was caused by an irregular heartbeat brought on by a mix of natural and unnatural factors, and because of this he certified the cause death as “undetermined.”
Wilson had exerted himself in sprinting from the officer, covering a little more than a half-mile in about five minutes, authorities told Wilson’s family.
“We have circumstances that are both natural in occurrence and, from our perspective, the Taser was something other than natural,” Faure said. “They’re all inter-related, and not one thing was more important (to causing the death) than the other.”
The coroner found no sign of alcohol or drugs in Wilson’s system.
Lafayette police deferred to the city’s attorney for comment.
Representatives from the office could not be reached Thursday.
Police suspected that Wilson was growing marijuana in a field in Louisville and said he ran when undercover officers approached him.
Wilson’s family is planning on filing suit against the city.
“I think that Tasers are unpredictable and put in the hands of a rookie cop like this it could be lethal,” Jack Wilson said. “I think the cop’s actions were negligent and careless and aggressive.”
Staff writer Manny Gonzales can be reached at 303-954-1537 or mgonzales@denverpost.com.
This story has been corrected in this online archive. Originally, due to a reporting error, it inaccurately described Wilson’s coronary artery as weak. The coroner determined it had a congenitally narrow opening at the time he was hit by a Taser.
