Darryll Briston

Less-than-lethal force

Darryl Briston, a former police chief, died after being tasered by State Police. Briston was in a casino when he encountered his estranged wife and her companion. Briston, a former police chief in Rankin, Pennsylvania, allegedly started a fight with the companion. Local police, casino security, and state police intervened in the fight. Briston left, and police chased him. Police said Briston was uncooperative and had to be wrestled to the ground and tasered in the leg by a state police trooper. Within a few minutes of arrest he reported having trouble breathing, an ambulance was called. Briston went into cardiac arrest--he was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead. Police say a total of 24 minutes elapsed between the use of the taser and Briston's death.