Death of Man Killed in Police Stun Gun Incident Ruled Homicide

The death of a medical school graduate from the Bahamas while in police custody in New London, Connecticut, has been ruled a homicide, but authorities say that doesn't mean the officers committed any crime.

But in the wake of the homicide ruling on Lashano Gilbert's death, Connecticut National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) officials are calling for changes to state laws regarding stun gun use by police.

"Dr. Lashano Gilbert, a native of the Bahamas was the 15th person to die in Connecticut after being tased by police," the Connecticut NAACP said in a statement. "The Connecticut NAACP, along with the CT ACLU and other civil rights advocacy groups, has long called for legislation that would regulate and limit the use of tasers."

Lashano Gilbert, 31, who The Associated Press reported was a medical school graduate from the Bahamas, died in October hours after he was arrested as a suspect in a car jacking when police used a stun gun on him twice in an eight-hour period. He is the 15th person in Connecticut to die of police stun gun use, according to the NAACP.

The Day newspaper reported that the chief medical examiner's office recently ruled his death a homicide caused by a fight with police that led to complications with what appeared to be a sickle cell disease condition.

In fall 2014, NAACP and others met with state Office of Policy & Management and Institute for Municipal & Regional Policy officials about stun gun regulations to ask the state to define stun guns "as something other than 'Less Than Lethal Force,'" limit the amount of times a stun gun can be used on a person, banning the use of stun guns on children, pregnant women and elderly individuals and that a physician evaluate anybody who police use a stun gun on, according to the NAACP.

"The final draft of Connecticut's model policy fails to address these very basic and rudimentary concerns and therefore fall short of the expectations of the NAACP and other civil rights organizations," according to the NAACP.

The homicide ruling means Gilbert's death was at least in part caused by another person.

Gilbert's family members aid they learned about the results last week.

NAACP officials said they plan on following the case and working with lawmakers on legislation for criminal justice reform.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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