SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — The Spokane County Sheriff's office has released the names of the deputies who responded to a call of an "out of control" man who suffered a heart attack after deputies used a Taser on him.
Deputy Phil Pfeifer, Deputy Veronica Van Patten, and Deputy Travis West responded to the initial call. The Sheriff's office did not specify which deputy used the Taser.
The case is being handled by the Spokane Investigative Regional Response team, supervised by the Washington State Patrol.
Deputies responded to the call about a man high on drugs acting “out of control” in a home on the 5900 block of N. Canal Street at around 9:30 p.m. Saturday, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said. A family member reported the man was screaming and breaking items after taking an unknown substance, according to the sheriff’s office.
Spokane Investigative Regional Response Team detectives later served a search warrant at the home and on the man's car. Detectives found a large amount of alcohol but no illegal drugs.
The sheriff’s office said they received similar calls about the man where he was uncooperative and violent toward deputies trying to arrest him. For that reason, several deputies and a Liberty Lake Police Officer responded to the call, the sheriff’s office said.
The man locked himself in a room in the basement and barricaded the door when deputies arrived, according to the sheriff’s office. While inside, he continued to scream, break items and act erratically, the sheriff’s office said.
The man resisted arrest and deputies used a taser to subdue him, according to the sheriff’s office. While the taser was effective, it still took several deputies to restrain him, the sheriff’s office said.
After deputies handcuffed the man, he became unresponsive and stopped breathing, according to the sheriff’s office. Deputies began CPR and medical personnel took over soon after, but despite their efforts, the man died at the scene, the sheriff’s office said.
The deputies were placed on administrative leave pending the results of an investigation, according to the sheriff’s office.
The Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office has confirmed the identity of the man who died as a result of this incident in the 5900 block of N. Canal in Newman Lake, WA on October 5, 2019 as 25 year-old Sergey A. Rumyantsev.
Investigators are working to interview the deputies involved as well as additional witnesses that are identified.
Anyone with information about the incident should call Washington State Patrol Detective Ryan Spangler at 509-227-6644.