76-Year-Old Nursing Home Patient Dies After Being Tasered by Cops

Man had knife to his own throat when police tasered him

A 76-year-old nursing home patient died recently from complications of injuries suffered when he was subdued by a police Taser.

Zheng Diao, who had been behaving erratically, was wielding a knife and scissors when St. Louis Park officers responded to a call for help from the Park Health and Rehab nursing home July 14, according to police.

Officers gestured for Diao, who did not speak English, to drop the weapons when Diao moved the knife toward his throat, according to police. When the officers used the Taser to try to prevent him from harming himself, he fell and seriously injured his face, police said.

Diao, of Blaine, died July 29 at Hennepin County Medical Center inMinneapolis from pneumonia that developed as he was being treated for delirium and his injuries, the Hennepin County medical examiner said Wednesday.

(H/T Charles WT)