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Man Shot With Taser By Police Dies

Mother Says Man Was Drug Addict

POSTED: 7:34 am CDT October 2, 2007
UPDATED: 6:40 pm CDT October 2, 2007

An investigation is under way after a man died in police custody on Monday.

Family members said that Keith L. White, 44, was a drug user and was spotted by police Monday night as he went behind a church near North 57th Terrace and Nogard Avenue to get high.

"I lost my heart and soul. If I would've let him smoke crack in my house, he would still be alive, and I blame myself," said Leyva White, Keith White's mother.

When police tried to arrest him, White ran into a nearby creek and started fighting with officers, according to authorities.

"My baby was a drug user. He did not carry weapons or anything like that," said White's mother.

During the struggle, White was shot twice with a Taser gun.

"They don't know if they are mentally ill or the things they go through. Evidently, if you see him running around in his shorts smoking dope behind a church, something is wrong with him, even if they do buck up. They should use something different than those Tasers. Tasers kill," said the man's mother.

White started complaining of chest pains and was rushed to the hospital, where he died.

An autopsy was completed on Tuesday, but police didn't have the results by late Tuesday afternoon.

They were also still awaiting toxicology results.

One officer was on paid administrative leave Tuesday while authorities investigated the incident.

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