BOULDER, Colo.—An internal investigation has cleared a Lafayette police officer who shot a Taser gun at a man who later died, the Camera reported in Saturday editions.
The report by the Lafayette police department was to be released publicly next week.
Prosecutors in October said no criminal charges would be filed against officer John Harris in the death Aug. 4 of Ryan Michael Wilson, 22. Wilson ran more than a half-mile from officers responding to a tip that marijuana was being grown in a field.
Police reports said Harris fired the Taser after Wilson appeared to reach for a knife clipped to his pants.
Coroner’s officials determined Wilson died of an irregular heartbeat caused by a combination of the exertion from running from officers, shock from the stun gun, and a heart condition present since birth.
“It makes me sick inside we have officers like Harris on the streets,” said Jack Wilson, Ryan Wilson’s father. “I wonder if Mr. Harris has children and if he would feel the same as me?”
Police Chief Paul Schultz did not return a call from the Camera, and efforts to reach Harris were unsuccessful.
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Information from: Daily Camera,
