Family members of a 38-year-old man who died after being Tased twice while allegedly resisting Aurora police say he had been turning his life around.
Jennifer Conover, 35, said her brother, Shane Ledbetter, had a drug problem but had been working and doing better.
“We’re just not sure what to think right now,” she said today. “We are reeling from the grief of it.”
Conover said Ledbetter was taken off life support Sunday and was later pronounced dead. An autopsy will be performed, she said.
Ledbetter was shocked with a Taser and a stun gun after he “violently resisted” arrest in Mission Viejo Park after a chase, according to a police report.
Officers were looking for someone else at a home where Ledbetter was, his sister said. He allegedly ran from officers after providing false information about his identity, according to police. He was wanted on six felony warrants.
“I think he just got spooked, and that’s why he ran,” Conover said.
Ledbetter was subdued and handcuffed when officers observed that he “appeared to be unresponsive,” according to a police report.
Conover said she is unaware of any medical condition her brother had that would have contributed to his death.
An officer injured during the arrest is on medical leave.
“He was trying to get his life turned around,” Conover said of her brother.
Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com
