Death of Florida Man Tased by Police Deemed a Homicide

According to the local medical examiner, the death of an unarmed black man who died two days after South Florida police officers shocked him with a Taser device has been ruled a homicide. 39-year-old Calvon Reid died in February following a late night incident in which he displayed threatening and violent behavior outside his Fort Lauderdale-area apartment complex. Jarrett Blakeley, a lawyer for Reid’s family, blamed the death on use of excessive force by police. The Broward County medical examiner's report, which the family received on Friday, attributed Reid's injury to an "electro-muscular disruption device," or Taser. It said recent cocaine use and alcohol were "significant conditions contributing to death," but not the "underlying cause."