Police Lieutenant Involved in Taser Death Found Dead
Thursday, October 02, 2008
New York, NY –
The police lieutenant who ordered the use of a Taser stun gun that led to the death of a Brooklyn man last week is dead of an apparent suicide.
Lieutenant Michael Pigott was found at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn early this morning dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The lieutenant had ordered another officer to shock Inman Morales, who fell nearly 10 feet off a building ledge to his death. After the incident, the lieutenant was stripped of his gun and badge, and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly ordered refresher training on how to deal with emotionally disturbed people.
An NYPD spokesman says the department works with a support organization to help identify and help depressed officers who might be at risk for committing suicide. He says that while each suicide is tragic, suicide rates for police officers are not higher than that of the general population.
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