Witnesses reported that they saw the four officers confront 44-year-old Hillstorm. One neighbor said that Hillstorm was pacing around the parking lot. She said that he told them that “you’re not the police” and walked in a circle. When the circle returned to the police, she says that they hit him with four individual tasers at the same time. That witness also claimed that one of the officers struck Hillstrom several times with a flashlight .
The Sheriff’s Office insisted that Hillstrom was resisting and has a history of police encounters with 26 arrests. This includes prior convictions for assault and drugs. Hillstorm was reportedly holding screwdriver but witnesses insisted that he was not threatening anyone with the tool.
To make matters worse, officers in Pierce County later used tasers on a suicidal 80-year-old man.
There is a disagreement on the number of taser hits. Witnesses say four, police say two because one missed. The initial autopsy also did not reveal blunt force injuries to his head, though a full autopsy will take time. The striking difference of accounts between officers and witnesses is difficult to reconcile.
Source: Komo News
Kudos: Michael Blott