A 41-year-old man, described as in “extreme distress” by a person with him in his apartment on Burban Drive, died Sunday night after police used a Taser to try to subdue him when he left apartment and began to act erratically.
A Branford police officer attempted to subdue the man, identified as David Werblow, after he began walking erratically in the middle of the road, attempting to enter moving cars. Branford police were able to direct motorists to keep driving, the state police said in a press release issued today.
Then Branford police ordered Werblow to get to the ground. They asked many times, they said. They said, Werblow, whom they described as a large man, refused.
After skirting among the moving cars, Werblow, whose address was given as 134 Burban Drive, found an unlocked car parked in a driveway on Burban Drive, near his apartment, police said. Officers attempted to get Werblow to leave the car but he ignored them, the press release said.
At that point, Police Officer John Abely, deployed his Taser in order “to gain control of” the man. The state police press release did not state how many times the Taser was used. Chief State’s Attorney Michael Dearington said this information would not be released at this time because the investigation is ongoing.
After the Taser was used, Abely and other police officers were able to remove him from the car and place him in handcuffs. According to the press release, police officers immediately noticed that he was in medical distress. A Branford Fire department ambulance, in the vicinity, arrived quickly but medics were unable to revive him. There were unconfirmed reports that he had a heart attack.
The office of the Chief Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy to determine the manner and cause of death.
Branford Police Chief Kevin Halloran said in the press release that “we take every use of force by our Officers very seriously; especially those that result in injury or, in those unusual cases, a loss of life. We realize that Conducted Electronic Weapons (Taser) are classified as a less than lethal weapon; however, we also realize their use can result in death and do not deploy them indiscriminately.”
Since the state police and the state’s attorney’s office are in charge of all use of force investigations, their offices will decide when additional information will be released to the public. The Eagle has asked for the Taser information.
According to police records, a 911 call came into headquarters of a person in distress at 134 Burban Drive on Sunday shortly before 7:45 p.m. The state police described the 911 call as creating a disturbance. Police responded to this call.
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