Whitestone Man Who Died After Police Tasing Was Unarmed: Report

WHITESTONE, QUEENS — The NYPD claimed that a Whitestone man who died in June after getting tased by police had been wielding a samurai sword at the time. But police body-cam footage shows that he was unarmed when cops tased him, according to a report in THE CITY.

According to the NYPD's rendition of what happened leading up to the death of George Zapantis the night of June 21, cops tased him only after he started approaching with the sword in hand.

The family's lawyer, who said he watched body camera footage from more than a dozen officers who showed up at Zapantis' home that night, told THE CITY that the videos contradict the NYPD's account.

“It was more than clear that he was unarmed," George Vomvolakis, the family’s lawyer, told THE CITY.

Officers showed up at Zapantis' home after getting a 911 call about someone with a gun there.

The family's lawyer told THE CITY that, according to the videos, officers then tased Zapantis at least five times, including twice while he was face down on the ground.

“They were just too quick to use the taser,” the lawyer told THE CITY. “There was no reason to use the taser.”

Zapantis went into cardiac arrest and was rushed to the hospital, where he died, police told the New York Post.

The incident is still under review by the NYPD's Force Investigation Division, though an initial review of the incident resulted in no disciplinary action against any of the officers involved, according to THE CITY.

Read the full story in THE CITY.