OKC Police Investigate Suspect's Death

Police are investigating the death of man who was taken into custody after being shot with a Taser early Sunday morning.

Sunday, August 21st 2011, 8:43 pm

By: News 9

Havonnah Johnson, News 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Police are investigating the death of man who was taken into custody after being shot with a Taser early Sunday morning.

Thirty-seven-year-old Montalito McKissick fled from police who had been called to break up a fight at the El Dorado Club at N.E. 23rd and Missouri, police reported.

Officers shot McKissick with a Taser and he collapsed in a yard near the club. After they handcuffed him, officers noticed McKissick wasn't breathing. They removed the handcuffs and began CPR, a police spokesman said.

Police said an EMSA paramedic discovered a baggie lodged in the victim's throat. Police didn't say if the baggie contained drugs.

"We have always had in-custody deaths. The difference is now we have Tasers and there are automatic assumptions the Taser caused death, but we leave it to the medical examiner and professionals to make those decisions," Captain Patrick Stewart of the Oklahoma City Police Department said.

Nine-year police veteran Daniel Godsil and Officer Justin Walters were put on paid administrative leave while police investigate McKissick's death.

According to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, McKissick has been arrested 12 times since 1992 for possession of a deadly weapon and cocaine.