The mother of a Jefferson County, Colorado man who died shortly after being electrocuted with a stun gun during a struggle with sheriff's deputies says she is convinced that excessive force by the deputies cause her son's death. She is considering a lawsuit against the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, whose deputies were responding to a suspected domestic violence incident when the confrontation occurred.

The victim's girlfriend called 911 around 4 a.m. on June 7 to report that he kept picking her up despite her trying to sleep. She told the dispatcher that she suspected the victim had relapsed into using methamphetamine. His eyes were bulging and he could not speak clearly.

When deputies arrived at the couple's home, the victim, 34, allegedly resisted their commands to surrender. One of the deputies used his stun gun against the man's leg in a painful technique known as "drive stun." The deputy also punched the victim in the face as his colleagues forced him into leg restraints and handcuffs.

The man was injured enough in the fight to require the deputies to call for paramedics. While riding in the ambulance, the victim stopped breathing and the paramedics were unable to revive him.

After an investigation into the fatal incident by Lakewood police, the Jefferson County district attorney denied that the deputies used excessive force. However, the victim's mother said the deputies should have treated her son as suffering from a medical emergency instead as a domestic violence suspect.

Source: Denver Post, "Jefferson County deputies cleared in drug user's death," Felisa Cardona, Nov. 28, 2011