Officials say heart disease killed man

Heart disease and excessive weight killed Yvelt Occean after he struggled with police in April, and not the shocks of a police Taser that officers used to subdue him, authorities have concluded.

After nearly eight months of investigation, the state medical examiner's office has ruled that Occean, 31, died from coronary artery atherosclerosis -- the principal cause of coronary artery disease -- about 2½ hours after being shocked with a Taser on April 5 in New Kent County.

Occean, of Silver Spring, Md., had resisted police efforts to remove him from Interstate 64 after he was seen walking and waving at traffic along the westbound lanes near Providence Forge.

The medical examiner's office has a policy of not commenting on autopsies it conducts.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch yesterday sought an opinion from Dr. Michael S. Gonzalez, medical director of VCU Medical Center's emergency room. Because of his expertise, The Times-Dispatch also had asked Gonzalez for his opinion shortly after the incident occurred in April.

"This is an unfortunate set of circumstances, but [Occean] had a bad heart, he was overweight and that was the more likely cause of death," Gonzalez said yesterday. "There's no clear evidence that the actual Tasering caused anything," he said, noting that Occean was "up walking around for a couple of hours" after being Tasered and taken into police custody.

A cardiac problem arising from the effects of a Taser would be more immediate, if at all, Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez said the Taser's shock would cause a person's muscles to contract, but essentially the same thing could result from "very strenuous activity in fighting with police."

"Anything that startled somebody would have the same effect, potentially, of stressing the heart out," he said. An underlying medical condition or drug intoxication could accentuate the risk, he said.

The use of Tasers, Gonzalez added, "is still a relatively safe method of subduing an agitated or potentially violent individual if it's used properly. And there's no indication that it was not used properly" in this case.

The incident is part of a still-incomplete state police investigation. When contacted in April, Occean's mother, Yvanne Jean-Louis, blamed police for her son's death, believing the Taser's electric shock was responsible.

She couldn't be located yesterday for comment. Her phone number is no longer listed.

New Kent Sheriff F.W. Howard Jr. and New Kent Commonwealth's Attorney Linwood Gregory said they were encouraged by the medical examiner's findings, but both declined to comment until the state police investigation is concluded.

Occean was stopped about 7:30 p.m. after a state trooper saw him walking along the interstate. After Occean repeatedly resisted orders to get out of traffic, the officer attempted to place the 6-foot-3, 300-pound man into custody, police said.

The trooper eventually arrested Occean with the assistance of a passer-by after spraying him with pepper spray, police said.

Within minutes, New Kent sheriff's deputies and a county rescue squad arrived to assist the trooper. Occean was treated at the scene, but he resisted further medical treatment and refused to be taken to a hospital.

After troopers and deputies tried to place Occean in a deputy's cruiser, Occean continued to resist and ignored numerous warnings from a deputy that he would be Tasered, police said. At that point, Occean received a 1,200-volt electric shock from an X-26 Taser gun.

He was then driven to the New Kent Sheriff's Office and processed for arrest. Just before 10 p.m., Occean collapsed in a holding cell and became unresponsive. He died after being taken to Richmond Community Hospital.
Contact Mark Bowes at (804) 649-6450 or .