The Chief Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy on a mentally ill man who allegedly went on a rampage last Sunday night, briefly taking a 3-year-old relative hostage, being Tased by Revere Police and later dying mysteriously in the Whidden Hospital.
The man’s name had not been released publicly as of Tuesday, but he was described as a being a Spanish-speaking male who was known to police from a previous incident.
Police described the man as being absolutely out of control on Sunday, and virtually nothing they did seemed to stop him. At one point, while in a stairwell of the Winthrop Avenue apartment building, officers believed the bloodied man would throw the child out of a window.
He eventually did release the child unharmed, police said.
Afterward, however, he continued kicking, punching and even biting officers as they tried to apprehend him. The man attempted to jump out of a window on the stairwell, but was prevented.
Three officers were injured during the scuffle.
Finally, officers used their Taser to try to subdue the man, but it seemingly had no effect. The Tasers are a new addition to the Revere Police’s tool kit, and all officers have been trained in using them. Since introducing them late last year, Tasers have only been deployed a handful of times.
It was not disclosed how many officers Tased the man and how many times he was Tased.
It was specified, though, that the devices seemed not to stop the man from his violent struggle.
After Tasing the man, numerous police officers were able to hold him down and handcuff him. He was led out of the Winthrop Avenue building to an ambulance that was waiting outside.
The man had been committed to a hospital for a mental health evaluation last week after an incident in Revere. Because of that, officers at the scene on Sunday night believed it would be a good idea to take him directly to the Whidden for another evaluation.
He was restrained in the ambulance to protect himself and staff members.
Initial police reports indicated that clinical staff did not observe physical trauma beyond lacerations that came when the man broke into the Winthrop Avenue apartment through a window.
However, once at the Whidden, the man passed away for what are now unknown reasons.
The State Police assigned to DA Dan Conley’s office are investigating the death of the man, and the Chief Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy to determine an official cause of death.
The events were set in motion late on Sunday when the man smashed two windows at the apartment of a relative. Once inside, he found himself in the room of the 3-year-old.
When police arrived, the man was in a common area stairwell of the building.
He was bleeding and combative and had the child with him.
There was significant worry that he would harm the child, but police said he did release the child unharmed.
However, once released, the man began his violent struggle with police.
