Man Dies After Officers In Forest Grove Use Stun Gun On Him, Prosecutors Say

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A man who Oregon prosecutors said stopped breathing after officers used a stun gun on him has died.

James Marshall, 44, died in the hospital two days after Forest Grove police stun gunned him on Oct. 7, the Washington County District Attorney’s office said Friday. Investigators have not yet released Marshall’s cause of death, the Oregonian reported.

Law enforcement found Marshall after midnight earlier this month waving a flagpole and causing a disturbance, prosecutors said. Police said Marshall was verbally hostile and made aggressive movements with the 10-foot pole. Police said Marshall tried to break church windows and punched an officer in the face.

Prosecutors said law enforcement brought Marshall to the ground and struggled with him as they tried to restrain him. Police said Marshall tried to grab an officer’s stun gun and accidentally discharged it into his arm. Later, an officer used the stun gun on Marshall’s back, prosecutors said.

Four officers have been placed on leave as a result of the incident, police said.

“Preliminary analysis of the body worn camera footage shows that the police officers violated no laws, did not act in an assaultive manner and did not do anything that would directly explain Mr. Kinney’s medical crisis,” the district attorney’s office said in a press release.