Colonie police are investigating what led to the death of a man who was tased by police after allegedly exploding into a violent rampage at Gold’s Gym.
At 6:18 a.m., police received two phone calls alerting them that Chad Brothers, 32, of Troy, was damaging property and getting into confrontations at a Gold’s Gym on Troy-Schenectady Road, according to Colonie Police Chief Steve Heider.
Police were able to obtain video from a surveillance camera in the gym to see what had taken place. According to Heider, Brothers had fallen off of a cardio machine before he began lashing out at others. In one instance, witnesses said he grabbed a woman’s water and took a drink from it. He then allegedly turned up the speed on a treadmill a man was on before punching him in the face. Heider said the patron was not seriously injured.
Brothers then left the building before coming right back in, when Heider said he `started on a rampage` and began knocking over 700-pound pieces of equipment.
Heider said Brothers left the gym again but came back, stormed into an office and began throwing around desks and chairs. An officer then arrived and confronted Brothers, but he soon started throwing things back at the officer, Heider said. The taser was then deployed.
When more officers arrived, Brothers allegedly began fighting back again. Heider said two to four different tasers were used on Brothers. Heider said police are still investigating the exact number of tasers used on Brothers.
Police then went to roll Brothers over to place him in handcuffs, but he had already passed out. Heider said an officer and an off-duty EMT began performing CPR on Brothers. A defibrillator was also hooked up to Brothers but gave a message to not shock him because he was still breathing.
Brothers was then transported to Albany Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
Heider said from talking with police officers involved in the incident and other witnesses, necessary force was used.
`He knocked over five universal weight machines that normally takes five people to set up,` Heider said. `He’s over six foot and over 225 pounds, possibly much heavier than that. Needless to say, he presented quite a challenge to the people there and the officers.`
The Colonie Police Department has used a taser 141 times over the past seven years and over that time period there have been approximately 20,000 arrests made by the department, according to Heider. He added that officers are trained in the use of force twice a year and that officers are submitted to taser training every two years. This was the first time a taser was used and the suspect died, Heider said.
`The only other remedy would be to start physical confrontation with somebody in close proximity to other and that could create a disaster,` Heider said. `The taser is much safer.`
Police believe that Brothers might have experienced what is known as Excited Dilerium, when the body’s activity rises to such a level the body then shuts down. Heider said it not yet known if the taser contributed to Brothers’ demise.
The Colonie Police Department is working with the Albany County District Attorney’s Office, the Albany County Coroners Office and the New York State Police’s Lab and Forensic Unit to pull the film off the surveillance cameras to be copied as evidence. An autopsy will be performed tomorrow and the pathologist will be for any checking alcohol and drug levels.
`It’s very unfortunate when custody deaths occur,` Heider said. `It’s nothing somebody wants to happen. We’re going to look and make sure what did happen was proper.`
