http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/04/porn-star-police-taser.html
A porn actor who died after breaking free of a handcuff and tearing a gurney off its floor locks was Tasered and brought under control by six to eight LAPD officers, officials said Monday.
The LAPD's Force Investigation Division is investigating the death of Marland Anderson -- known professionally as Sledge Hammer -- after he became violent with paramedics and was restrained by Los Angeles police officers, who used a Taser to stun him.
The incident occurred April 8 in Reseda, and he died Friday at a hospital.
Authorities say they responded to a call of an attempted suicide at a home in Reseda. When paramedics and officers arrived, they found Anderson with his girlfriend. Anderson had suffered a knife injury, Lt. Andrew Neiman said.
The girlfriend told officers Anderson tried to hurt himself with the knife and she pried it away from him, Neiman said.
He was then handcuffed to a gurney by police for transportation in an ambulance. An officer was riding in the ambulance with paramedics when Anderson became extremely agitated, Neiman said.
Neiman said Anderson tried to stand up but moved with such force that he broke the gurney free from a floor lock and broke the handcuff.
"He was partially standing in the ambulance," Neiman said.
Paramedics were forced to stop the ambulance and a second officer following in a police car entered. To restrain Anderson, the officer used a Taser, but it failed to stop him, Neiman said.
The Taser, used in a stun mode, may have actually made contact with the other officer's leg because that officer complained he was being stunned, Neiman said.
Eventually, the officers called for backup. With Anderson -- who stood 6-foot-1 and had a muscular build -- then outside the ambulance, officers again used the Taser to try to restrain him and then used their body weight.
"Six to eight [officers] eventually managed to control him," Neiman said.
Neiman said a conscious and restrained Anderson was then put back into the ambulance and taken to a hospital.
Once at the hospital, Anderson lost consciousness and died Friday morning. L.A. County coroner's officials expect to complete an autopsy on the San Fernando Valley resident on Tuesday.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef01676535c73a970b-pi