Was Taser a factor in man's death?

The heart failure that killed a Springville man during a scuffle with police officers in Heber City last December may have been spurred by two shots from a Taser gun, the Wasatch County Attorney's Office has concluded.

But the manufacturer of the Taser gun, Taser International of Arizona, says there is nothing in the medical examiner's report to indicate electrical shocks from a Taser gun were a contributing factor in Douglas Meldrum's death.

And while Wasatch County Attorney Thomas Low absolves Heber City police officers of any blame in the death, an official account of the Dec. 17 incident, released Friday, indicates aggressive force used by officers to restrain the 37-year-old Meldrum may have been as much of a factor in his death as the use of a Taser gun.

Several of Meldrum's family members said they had no comment on the county attorney's findings but did say they were aware of or had read the report.

Low could not be reached for comment.

The account says the events that led to Meldrum's death began about 2:30 p.m. Dec. 17, when a dispatcher reported an erratic driver on U.S. 189 near Heber City.

Officer Thad Fitzimmons located Meldrum west of the intersection of U.S. 189 and U.S. 40, turned on his emergency lights and began the chase. Fitzimmons followed Meldrum for three and a half miles, during which time Meldrum nearly collided with four other vehicles and ran three stop signs, before he abruptly swerved his truck off the road, hit a garbage can and entered a snow-covered field.

When Meldrum's truck got stuck, Fitzimmons and officer Mike Arnold, who had joined the chase, jumped out of their cars and ordered Meldrum to exit his truck.

When Meldrum refused, they tried to pull him from the truck, shooting him twice with the Taser gun. The Taser immobilizes its targets with a powerful electric shock.

Once the officers had Meldrum out of his truck, a struggle ensued on the ground, during which both Fitzimmons and Arnold wrestled with Meldrum, who had already punched them several times. At one point, Arnold held Meldrum in a choke-hold for about 90 seconds, the account states.

The two officers could not keep Meldrum on the ground.

When UHP trooper Bryan Gardner arrived, Meldrum was still resisting arrest, so he sprayed him in the face with pepper spray, at which point Meldrum quickly submitted. The entire struggle, from the time Meldrum was ordered to get out of his truck until he was arrested, lasted approximately three minutes, the account says.