Dante Parker

Dante Parker, a 36-year-old Victorville father, died after repeated Taser use and physical restraint by San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies on August 12, 2014.

What happened

Deputies responded to a reported attempted burglary on Bucknell Court in Victorville and confronted Dante Parker as he rode a bicycle. The sheriff's department alleged Parker resisted arrest and was repeatedly shocked with a Taser during a lengthy struggle before officers handcuffed him and put him in a patrol car. Deputies then noted severe sweating and breathing difficulty, called medical responders, and transported him to hospital, where he died. His wife Bianca and relatives said he had been disoriented rather than violent, and called with the Victorville NAACP for an independent investigation into the force used and the delay in medical response. He was a father of five and worked for a local newspaper.

Investigation & findings

The Riverside County coroner classified the death as accidental and attributed it to acute PCP intoxication complicated by cardiovascular disease. That medical classification does not settle whether Taser use or police restraint was appropriate; the family challenged the conduct.

What happened

Investigation & findings

Sources & records