Crofton Man Tased By Police Dies 6 Weeks Later: MD Investigators

CROFTON, MD — A Crofton man died about six weeks after he was tased by police in Gambrills, state investigators said Monday.

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown's team said in a news release it is investigating this "use of force incident" in the death of Lavaughn Coleman, 21. This is normal protocol any time officers are involved in a death or a serious injury.

The Anne Arundel County Police Department on Oct. 29 responded to the 900 block of Waugh Chapel Way around 4:30 p.m. for a report of two men in a vehicle with guns and drugs, Brown said.

Investigators said officers ordered the two men out of the vehicle as they investigated. The first man complied and was placed in handcuffs, the attorney general said.

Brown said the other man, later identified as Coleman, initially complied. When the officer then tried to place Coleman in handcuffs, investigators said he stood up, ran, struck the officer and knocked off his body camera.

Cpl. A. Stallings pursued Coleman and told him to stop before tasing him, the attorney general said.

Stallings is a patrol officer with 10 years of experience, a press release said. Investigators do not release the full first names of involved officers at this stage of the investigation.

Brown said Coleman fell to the ground and hit his head. Investigators said officers gave first aid and requested medics.

The attorney general said Coleman was taken to an undisclosed hospital and later to a trauma center. Brown said Coleman was still in the trauma center in critical condition as of Dec. 7; he died Dec. 14.

The attorney general said police notified Brown's Independent Investigations Division the day of the tasing.

Investigators said they took over the investigation on Dec. 6 because of updates to Coleman's condition.

In accordance with state law, the attorney general's Independent Investigations Division will decide whether to press charges against the officer involved.

Brown said body cameras captured the encounter.

The Independent Investigations Division will generally release that body camera video within 20 business days of opening an investigation. It could be delayed if investigators need more time for witness interviews, shielding the identity of witnesses or letting relatives view the footage first.

Patch Editor Jacob Baumgart originally reported this story.

This map shows the area where the attorney general said the tasing happened.