Stun gun 'freed of blame
for hom less man's death

I

cent Del' Ostia, not police stun gun,
says medical
examiner.

a

~

She said Del' Ostia died from a
toxic level of cocaine in his system .91 milligrams per liter of blood.
Cocaine killed a homeless man who
The precise cause and manner of
died in Hollywood police custody, not his death are still being investigated,
a Taser gun that police used to ~bdue " O'Neil said
him,"said the Broward Medical ExamHollywood police spokesman Lt.
iner pathologist who performed the Tony ROde said the result speaks for
man's aut,?psy. "
"
itself.
"The police departmep.t's position
Vmcent".Arinanl Del' Ostia, ~ died
Jan. 27 after officers used the nonle- from day one was that die Taser was
thal weapon to subdue him when he not the cause of death."
"
broke a door and thrashed around in
The weapons, increasingly used by
the lobby of the Entra<!.a Resort Motel polke across the country, are sup"It was not the Taser," Dr. Linda
posed to immobilize a subject' for five
O'Neil, associate, medical ,examiner, to 10 seconds, just long enough for the
"said Tuesday.
pOlice to handcUff the person.
I

•

•

•

Cocaine
killed Vin-

Once subdued and in handcuffs,
Del' Ostia began to" have trouble
breathing. He was taken to nearby
Memori~ Regional Medical Center,
Where he "Was pronounced dead
But Vmcent Del' Ostia, th~ grandfathe'r who raised Del' Ostia with his
wife in Holl)'iWoOO, said cocaine or no,
his grandson died because of the
Taser.
, He said an iridepe~de~tpathology
• i.....;

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",.l.

_.• IUASE SEE STUN GUN, 2B

..:.w·. ...•.....Ioi·ioWO·..•. . .•

mml

A WITNESS at the murder trial of ex-librarian William
Coday, right, says he played on victim's sympathies to
lure her to his Victoria Park apartment, 3B

CANDIDATE for governor Bill McE
right, campaigns at Broward County
Lawyers Association meeting, 9B '

RULES AGAINST housing male teens at emergency
shelters left a mother vulnerable to attack, 3B

SEN. JOE BIDEN, D-Delaware, vi~
SouthFlorid"a, considers presidency.

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J

p~ndrews@herald.com 954-538-710~