The Chicago Police Department's announcement that more Tasers will be used by officers on the street comes the morning after a man died after police Tasered him in south suburban Midlothian.
The Chicago Tribune reports on Wednesday that the CPD will expand its use of Tasers throughout the department. The number of Tasers on the street will rise from 280 to around 650, and patrol officers will be given authorization to use the allegedly nonlethal weapons.
On Tuesday night, however, a man died after being Tasered by police.
Jaesun Ingles, from south suburban Riverdale, was pulled over around 11 p.m. Tuesday night in nearby Midlothian. Ingles was serving parole in Illinois for an attempted assault charge in Ohio, the Tribune reports. When they pulled him over, officers smelled marijuana, and found a small amount on Ingles when they searched him.
Ingles ran. He hid behind a small building and attempted to swallow a plastic bag that "may have contained drugs". When officers tracked him down, he resisted arrest, and they used a Taser on him.
Ingles began to have trouble breathing after being Tasered. He was taken to MetroSouth Hospital in Blue Island, another south suburb, and pronounced dead at 12:31 a.m.
The Illinois State Police public integrity unit is investigating the incident, and a Wednesday autopsy was inconclusive, pending the results of more tests.
Ingles' death is likely to draw some negative attention to the increased Taser presence in Chicago.
Watch police Supt. Jody Weis discuss the new measure: