Man dies after Martin deputies fire Taser at him

Palm Beach Post
Aug. 31, 2005

A 31-year-old Port Salerno man died early Saturday after being arrested and possibly shot twice with a Taser stun gun, Martin County Sheriff's Office reported.

Brian Lichtenstein had been out of Palm Beach County Jail for four days and was in the midst of a three-day crack-cocaine binge when sheriff deputies found him Friday night running naked through woods near Riverland Mobile Home Park in Stuart, according to the incident report.

Lichtenstein screamed, "Leave me alone, just let me die," and jumped at deputies, one of whom reacted by twice firing a Taser gun, Sgt. Jenell Atlas said.

Tasers fire twin barbs that can pierce 2 inches of clothing and that deliver a 50,000-volt electrical shock. Both barbs need to make contact with the body to deliver the shock.

Atlas said deputies know at least one barb hit Lichtenstein because they saw him pull it from his bare chest.

When Lichtenstein was brought under control, deputies took him to Martin Memorial Medical Center, where he died early Saturday morning.

Lichtenstein's mother, Rosemarie, said doctors told her he went into cardiac arrest on his way to the hospital and suffered two strokes. She said doctors were unable to insert a pacemaker because of too much internal bleeding. She said he had two broken arms.

"We're not saying he was an angel, because he was not," said Lichtenstein's wife, Angie. "But he didn't deserve what he got."

Lichtenstein's death could be the first in Martin County linked to a law enforcement Taser, Atlas said.

An autopsy is scheduled Monday.

Florida leads the nation with 27 Taser-related deaths since 2000, according to a Palm Beach Post analysis. That analysis showed 17 of the 27 people killed in Florida had traces of cocaine in their body.

Angie Lichtenstein told law enforcement she and her husband had been smoking crack cocaine since Wednesday, according to the sheriff's incident report.

Brian Lichtenstein had been released from Palm Beach County Jail the day before after he was arrested on June 17 by Riviera Beach police for allegedly stealing a car and leading police on a chase.

Angie Lichtenstein said her husband was shot three times with a Taser gun in that incident.

"He had a huge burn mark all over his back," she said.

Brian Lichtenstein was arrested several times in the past 10 years, according to Florida Department of Law Enforcement records, and his mother said he struggled with a drug problem.

"After the hurricanes (last year), everything went nuts," Rosemarie Lichtenstein said. "Everything went downhill."

Angie Lichtenstein said that on Friday she and her husband were driving along Kanner Highway in Stuart when they ran out of gas in front of the Riverland Mobile Home Park. Brian Lichtenstein was afraid police were chasing him and took off running into the park, his wife said.

The police were not chasing Brian Lichtenstein, the sheriff office's Atlas said.

Angie Lichtenstein walked home, but her husband stripped off his clothes and frightened a resident, who called police.

The resident told police Brian Lichtenstein was groaning outside her home. She called back moments later to report he was jumping on her car.

He ran into the woods when deputies arrived and crawled into thick brush after a deputy fired a Taser at him, according to the incident report. Deputies pulled him out of the brush, tied his legs with a sheet and handcuffed his wrists, the report said.

He was taken to the hospital for treatment of cuts, bruises and a possible drug overdose, according to the report.