Taser fire may have very likely caused the same result. This man is severely obese, has Congestive Heart Failure, and asthma. My opinion is a possible heart attack. He did not seem to have the loud wheezing that would likely have come from a severe asthma attack.
I have now watched the video in its entirety, and can definitely spell out serious flaws in the post handcuff time frame. When it became obvious that the man was not responsive, an AED would have been a good option to immediately bring up. I don't know if any of the police routinely carry one in their patrol cars, but I'm sure a local business may have had one.
When EMS arrived, supplemental oxygen should have been started immediately. This man should have been huffing and puffing after the struggle, which points quickly to actual respiratory and/or cardiac failure.
Maybe I just missed it on the video, but I never saw the officers check for breathing or a pulse. Surely they are trained on basic life support.
So I do see serious flaws in the care, and a justified outrage over the aftermath, but I do not believe the "chokehold" was responsible for the death. If the larynx were damaged while the man was being held around the neck, there should have been some serious changes to the voice of the arrestee while on the ground, but he sounded the same while shouting "I can't breathe" as he did before being accosted. I absolutely do believe he was truthful that he could not breathe, but I think the takedown in general triggered whatever it was that killed the man.
Again, if adequate care was given quickly when he became non responsive, there is a good chance he would be alive today.
However, a Taser might have led to the same outcome...he would have been shocked, held to the ground, etc. still in this case (and it seems that being held on the ground and his medical conditions were the major contributors to his death)
