*** MEDIA ADVISORY*** March 29, 2010 POLICE ACTION TASER DEPLOYMENT DEEMED REASONABLE USE OF FORCE IN DEATH INVESTIGATION OF DELANO SMITH Media Contact:  Curtis T. Hill, Jr. - 296-1888 Elkhart County Prosecuting Attorney Curtis T. Hill, Jr. has completed his review of the investigation into the death of Delano Smith, age 22, of Elkhart, who died on January 6, 2010, following a confrontation with officers of the Elkhart Police Department and while in their custody.  The Elkhart Police Department Homicide Unit immediately commenced an investigation into the death of Mr. Smith, and the autopsy report lists the manner of death as homicide.  Based upon a thorough review of the investigation, Mr. Hill has determined that the police action in deployment of tasers used to subdue Mr. Smith was a reasonable use of force, necessary and appropriate to prevent his further harm.The investigation was able to determine that on January 6, 2010, at approximately 7:19 a.m., Officer Bruce Anglemyer of the Elkhart Police Department was the first officer to arrive at 123 West Hively Avenue, Apartment B13, in response to an emergency dispatch to that apartment due to a neighbor’s report of the resident of Apartment B13 screaming and breaking glass.  Upon arrival, Officer Anglemyer heard a subject screaming loudly with what the officer characterized as “evangelical” music blaring from the same apartment and he further observed glass from a window broken out of its frame.  Approximately 30 seconds later, Cpl. Norm Friend arrived as backup, and the two officers approached the apartment from the common hallway area, finding potted plants which had been dumped in the hallway and the door to Apartment B13 standing open.  Both officers heard screaming and loud “evangelical” music coming from inside the apartment.Officer Anglemyer and Cpl. Friend then entered the apartment and observed a black male, later identified as Delano Smith, dousing his head in the kitchen sink full of water and what appeared to be blood.  Mr. Smith also had a large wound to his arm and appeared to be biting the wound with his teeth.  The walls, ceiling, and various other areas of the apartment appeared to have a significant amount of blood on them, and the cupboards and appliances in the kitchen appeared to be damaged with exposed electrical wiring.  There was broken glass scattered about the living area of the apartment as well.  Mr. Smith appeared to disregard the officers and continued screaming and biting at his wound, while dousing his head in the sink full of water.  Mr. Smith wrapped his mouth around the exposed electrical wires, despite the officers’ requests for him to stop.  Sgt. James Buchmann and Officer Michael Price had also arrived at the apartment and reported observing Mr. Smith continue to inflict further injury upon himself, despite additional warnings to stop.The officers repeatedly directed Mr. Smith to stop injuring himself and come out of the kitchen, away from the wires and the water.  Mr. Smith did not comply with the officers’ directions and began punching and kicking at a metal pantry-type door in the kitchen.  He then began throwing items at the officers.At this time, Sgt. James Buchmann deployed his taser.  The taser is intended to be a non-lethal method of subduing a subject, and the officers were concerned not only for their safety, but also the safety of Mr. Smith.  The taser did not appear to have any effect upon Mr. Smith, who continued to bite and tear away at his injuries.  Cpl. Norm Friend then requested another attempt to subdue Mr. Smith by taser.  Officers Anglemyer and Price then both deployed their department tasers at Mr. Smith, which did not appear to have any immediate impact.  Eventually Mr. Smith slowly went to his knees, then on down to the floor.  Medics were already standing by and after the officers secured Mr. Smith for safety, medical assistance was provided to him at the scene, and he was transported to Elkhart General Hospital where, according to records, Mr. Smith was pronounced dead at approximately 8:10 a.m.A forensic autopsy was performed by Dr. Joseph Prahlow, M.D., who determined the primary cause of death to be excited delirium (acute exhaustive mania) related to underlying schizophrenia and manic depression with a contributing factor to be police confrontation and restraint.According to Dr. Prahlow, “Because the police confrontation and restraint is considered contributory, this death is best classified as a homicide, even though death from excited delirium alone may have occurred even without interaction with police.  The designation ‘homicide’ is merely a medical use of the term, indicating the fact that the actions of another individual(s) contributed to death, and should not be construed to mean that the police action was necessarily inappropriate.”  The autopsy revealed no indication of inappropriate drug use. The Elkhart Police Department Homicide Unit thoroughly documented the facts and circumstances surrounding the incident, including Mr. Smith’s past medical and psychological history, as well as his behavior for a period of time prior to his death.  Witnesses who had observed Mr. Smith shortly before his death reported that Mr. Smith claimed the “sin” was “in him” and further reported that he was behaving irrationally.  All of the officers involved have received training related to the use of tasers, and investigators performed a review of the electronic data relating to each of the tasers used.Our standard for review in this case is, did the officers engage in conduct intending to cause harm, or in plain, conscious and unjustifiable disregard of the harm that might result.“Tasers are intended to be deployed as a method of non-lethal restraint and based upon the facts and circumstances leading to the police confrontation with Mr. Smith, there is nothing to suggest that the police officers involved had any intention other than to prevent further harm or injury to Mr. Smith, as well as themselves,” said Prosecuting Attorney Curtis T. Hill, Jr. “While it is quite unfortunate that this apparently troubled young man is dead, and while the actions of the officers may have inadvertently contributed to his death, the actions taken by the police officers to subdue Mr. Smith were reasonable, appropriate, and necessary in an attempt to prevent his further harm.  The officers did not intend to harm Mr. Smith nor did they demonstrate any disregard for his well being when they acted,” said Hill.                                                    *  *  *