NY AG Clears Police In Bronx Stun Gun Death

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Published on August 31, 2017, 12:00 am
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A state probe has cleared the New York Police Department of any blame in the death of an emotionally disturbed Bronx man subdued with a stun gun.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office said in a report Thursday the actions by police in the November, 2016 death of Ariel Galarza were not criminal.

Police say the 49-year-old Galarza threatened officers with a bottle before a sergeant discharged his stun gun twice. Galarza went into cardiac arrest and was taken to a hospital, where he died.

The report said a “police officer may justifiably use reasonable force in order to protect himself.”

Schneiderman’s office has the power to investigate deaths of unarmed people at the hands of police.

An attorney for Galarza’s family, Sanford Rubenstein, said the family was “extremely disappointed” in the decision not to bring criminal charges against the police officers involved.

Rubenstein said the family plans to file a civil action next week in Bronx Supreme Court alleging wrongful death.

 

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Jonas Bronck is the pseudonym under which we publish and manage the content and operations of The Bronx Daily.™ | Bronx.com - the largest daily news publication in the borough of "the" Bronx with over 1.5 million annual readers. Publishing under the alias Jonas Bronck is our humble way of paying tribute to the person, whose name lives on in the name of our beloved borough.