Six cops, one shirtless man, three Taser shots
Mark Morri The Daily Telegraph
March 20, 2012
www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-nsw/six-cops-one-shirtless-man-three-taser-shots/story-e6freuzi-1226304524793
THE Brazilian man killed after being tasered by police has been identified as Roberto Laudisio Curti.
A spokesman for the Brazilian consulate said the young man was in Australia studying English.
“”He lived with his sister and brother in law in Sydney. His parents are very vey upset,’’ said a consulate spokesman.
Mr Curti is accused of stealing a packet of biscuits, and was tasered by at least three police officers before he collapsed and died on a Sydney street.
Graphic CCTV footage shows the man’s final moments as he was chased down a city street by six officers and subdued by a final Taser shot, seemingly to his back.
Mr Curti, whose visa had expired, died on the spot, unable to be revived by the officers.
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The Daily Telegraph has been told “at least three times officers used Tasers” on the shirtless robbery suspect.
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Each time he recovered, fended off the officers and stumbled to his feet, until the final shot ended the incident.
Witnesses claimed he screamed “help me” as the officers held him down.
Asked why the man was not simply crash-tackled or overpowered, senior police said officers were under the impression the man could have been armed.
“He was tasered a number of times over a reasonable amount of time but he just kept going and was able to shove officers away,” a police source said.
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“The officers did not Taser him all at the one time. They tried to apprehend him but he was still able to push them away and keep running.”
Police are now positive the man tasered on Pitt St is the same person that walked into a City Convenience store on nearby King St about 5.30am on Sunday morning and asked for someone to “help me” before stealing a packet of biscuits and fleeing.
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Soon after, CCTV footage from the Coffee Pitt cafe on Pitt St, a 10-minute walk away, showed him being approached by at least five officers.
Footage from Sydney Council CCTV cameras is being studied to see what route he took and if he had a weapon and disposed of it. Toxicology tests will be carried out to see if drugs were in the man’s system.
Workers at the convenience store who saw the CCTV footage said the man was rambling.
“He came in once and then was told to get out. He came back about 10 minutes later and climbed over the security door and was inside the area where the attendant is suppose to be safe,” one worker said.
“You can see him in the footage talking a lot. He said the world was going to end and to help him. He doesn’t have a shirt on. He grabs a packet of biscuits before opening the door and going out.”
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Police Minister Michael Gallacher said the NSW Ombudsman Bruce Barbour will independently oversee the investigation into the death of Mr Curti.
“The NSW Government supports the use of Tasers by Police. They are an important tool for police to utilise in certain situations,” Mr Gallacher said.
“For frontline police to have confidence in their use of the Taser, the community must have confidence that the use of Tasers is responsible, and having this investigation independently overseen will do that,” Mr Gallacher said.
NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said Tasers are provided to the NSW Police Force with a suite of accountability measures, including on board cameras to record the instances of their use.
“Homicide Squad are investigating all circumstances surrounding the man’s death, including the deployment of police tactical options, with all information to be provided to the NSW Coroner,” Commissioner Scipione said.