Man tased by Soddy Daisy P.D. dies

January 24, 2009
WRCB Channel 3 Chattanooga

UPDATE: January 24, 2009

SODDY DAISY (WRCB) - A man tased by a Soddy Daisy police officer earlier this month has died after weeks in a coma.

According to his obituary, he died on Thursday at a local hospital.

An outside investigation is ongoing to determine what happened the morning he was injured. A police report shows Redden was tased because he appeared to be on some type of narcotic. It also states he wouldn't obey verbal commands and was kicking and swinging at first responders.

The police report states he was tased three times, but family and friends believe it was more.

Redden's sister is a dispatcher with the Soddy Daisy Police Department, so the investigation is being handled by the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department.

ORIGINAL STORY:
Posted: Jan 9, 2009 11:48 PM EST

Soddy Daisy (WRCB) - An investigation is underway into what happened early Sunday morning in Soddy Daisy that left a man fighting for his life. Soddy Daisy Police Officers responded to two calls on Sunday at a home where Roger Redden was staying. Officers left him alone after the first call. "When the ambulance came he didn't want to go, kind of upset," says Martha Dennis, a friend of Redden's.

The police report paints a different picture of the second call; it states that Redden appeared to be on some type of narcotic and wouldn't obey verbal commands to lay down on a stretcher provided by EMS. The police report continues to say that Redden was kicking and swinging at the first responders and that is when a taser was used three times. Dennis says she believes overuse of the taser is what landed Redden in critical condition. She says the taser proved to be too much for Redden and worries he won't make it through. "Taser gun taken away if they don't know how and when to use it, when its necessary," she says.

Redden's sister is a dispatcher with the Soddy Daisy Police Department, so this investigation is being handled by the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department. The Soddy Daisy Police Department is not commenting.