Swissvale Man Who Died After Taser Was Shocked Before

A man who died Aug. 5 after suburban Pittsburgh police used a Taser on him had been shocked by a Taser used by a different police department in April.

The family of Andre Thomas, 37, believes Swissvale police used excessive force in subduing him before he died. But an Allegheny County autopsy, and another the family paid for, remain inconclusive pending toxicology and other tests.

Police in New Kensington say they had to use a Taser on Thomas when he was out of control there.

Swissvale police said Thomas was acting erratically and trying to enter people's homes on Hawthorne Avenue when they shocked him.

The attorney hired by Thomas' family isn't commenting on the New Kensington incident.

Last week, District Attorney Stephen Zappala addressed the possibility of excited delirium, which is a condition in which a person becomes irrational. The body temperature rises and organs fail and often times, it's associated with drug use.

Doctors and law enforcement officers don't all agree on whether the condition of excited delirium exists, but it is a term more medical examiners are using to explain why people die suddenly in police custody.

Zappala said Allegheny County police as well as the FBI are conducting investigations into the death.

Previous Stories: August 18, 2008: Results In On Second Autopsy Of Stunned Swissvale Man August 18, 2008: Friends, Family Remember Man Who Died After Being Tasered In Swissvale August 7, 2008: Group Protests Taser Death Of Swissvale Man August 5, 2008: Taser Victim's Father Speaks Out Over Son's Death