Overview
- Police say officers tried to stop 52-year-old Eric Baker on Saturday night for riding a bike without the required front light near University Drive and Dobson Road, and he fled into a nearby apartment complex and crashed.
- Officers report he resisted and kicked at them, so they used strikes and multiple Taser deployments during a struggle that lasted about one minute and 35 seconds before handcuffing him on suspicion of assaulting an officer and due to an active felony warrant.
- About 45 seconds after he was cuffed, police say they moved Baker into a recovery position and, roughly 40 seconds later, requested an expedited medical response.
- Medics decided to take him for pre-booking medical clearance, he became unresponsive in the ambulance, and he was pronounced dead at the hospital as the medical examiner reviews the cause of death.
- ABC15 reports a bystander video shows Baker saying he could not breathe as officers held him, and Mesa police say the involved officers are on 40-hour critical incident leave during the ongoing review.