Thomas Tipton

Less-than-lethal force

After an evening when the 270-lb Tipton ran up an $800 bar tab and was discovered disoriented and drunk hiding in the roots of a banyan tree, he became enraged when officers tried to bring him in. He was cuffed, tasered, and restrained in a face-down position. When he stopped breathing, rescue workers' attempt at reviving him failed because of a dead battery.