Taser Death Probe Cleared San Mateo County Deputies

REDWOOD CITY, CA -- San Mateo Sheriff's deputies have been cleared for wrongdoing and found to have used lawful force in the Taser encounter last October that resulted in a man's death, the District Attorney's office announced Friday.

District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe completed its investigation in the death of Chinedu Okobi involving deputies using a Taser stun gun to restrain him and will not file criminal charges.

“It is always a tragedy anytime there is a loss of life. It is never something we in law enforcement want to have happen. Our hearts go out to Chinedu Okobi and his family as well as everyone affected by this terrible situation. We appreciate the work conducted by the District Attorney’s Office on this lengthy investigation and will continue with our administrative review process,” Sheriff Carlos G. Bolanos said.

The probe determined that Okobi initially resisted the deputies’ attempts to detain him and at one point included a facial strike to one of the deputies later in the encounter.

The incident started with a pedestrian traffic violation accusing Okobi of jaywalking on the 1400 block of El Camino Real in Millbrae and escalated from there.

But John Burris, an attorney for Okobi's family, said the incident appeared to be in violation of the sheriff's office's use of force policy and questioned whether the force used was appropriate. He vowed to pursue a civil case on behalf of the family. The family is disputing alleged discrepancies in the report, something the sheriff's office did not respond to.

The deputies were identified as John DeMartini, Alyssa Lorenzatti, Bryan Watt and
Sgt. David Weidner.

Okobi's death marked the third Taser-related death in San Mateo County last year.

Wagstaffe also cleared deputies in the previous two deaths, Warren
Ragudo in Daly City and Ramzi Saad in Redwood City.

Despite clearing of law enforcement in the matter, the sheriff's department is responding to suggestions to keep automated external defibrillators in each patrol car as Okobi died of cardiac arrest. All staff is trained in first aid and CPR as well as the use of the defibrillators.

--Bay City News contributed to this report.