Teen Yelling "I Want Jesus" Stun Gunned By Police Then Dies

JERSEYVILLE - Police say they are investigating the death of a 17-year-old Dow youth who died after being Tasered at least twice by police during a weekend confrontation.

Authorities said Roger D. Holyfield Jr. died at 8:16 p.m. Sunday at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital in St. Louis, just one day after Jerseyville police used a Taser, an electric stun device, to subdue him at the intersection of Adams and South State Street.

Jerseyville Police Chief Brad Blackorby remained unavailable for comment Monday but issued a release giving the department's account.

Police officers responded around 8:56 p.m. Saturday to the 600 block of South State Street to find a man holding a Bible and a cordless phone yelling, "I want Jesus!" The subject was later identified as Holyfield.

Officers attempted to speak to Holyfield, but he became combative toward officers and would not respond to verbal commands, police said.

Holyfield was warned several times to stop being combative or risk being Tasered, police said. Even after the device was initially used, Holyfield continued to be combative and rolled around, dislodging the Taser probes. Holyfield continued to resist officers and the Taser was deployed a second time. Holyfield then physically pulled the probes out, police said.

After Jersey Community Hospital's ambulance arrived on the scene, Holyfield began vomiting. Officers assisted the ambulance crew with loading Holyfield and taking him to the hospital. Holyfield became unresponsive while the ambulance crew continued to work on him. He was then flown to Cardinal Glennon in St. Louis, where he died the following night.

The release does not state which police officers were involved in the incident.

News accounts that circulated Monday indicated the youth may have suffered bipolar disorder, but that could not be confirmed.

At least one witness agreed that Holyfield was out of control at the scene.

"He was struggling, he was resisting. They did what they could to hold him down," witness Dustin Lawson told reporters.

A second witness told The Telegraph there were at least four police cars, two Illinois State Police troopers and another man in street clothes surrounding Holyfield.

A third witness said there were more than enough officers there to subdue him without using the shock treatment. He said officers hit Holyfield a number of times during the encounter.

The Taser is a "non-lethal device used to subdue combative suspects," the police press release said. The Jerseyville Police Department has been deploying the Taser for the past five months, and previously the Jersey County Sheriff Department has deployed Tasers in the city for approximately one year. All officers received the required Taser training and were certified for use of the weapon. This included being Tased and witnessing other officers being Tased.

Blackborby's release said an investigation is under way but does not clarify if an outside agency is involved.

Illinois State Police District 18 commander Capt. Tim Reents, based in Litchfield, said his department is not handling the investigation. Neither is State Police District 11 in Collinsville, which houses the public integrity unit, said Lt. Mark Bramlett.

Personnel from the St. Louis City Medical Examiner's Office will conduct an autopsy this morning.

"The city of Jerseyville and the Police Department cannot comment any further at this time," the release said.

Alexander-Gubser Funeral Home in Jerseyville is handling funeral arrangements.

Funeral home director Larry Alexander said Roger Holyfield's family has declined to speak to the media regarding his death.

The victim is believed to have been an only child.

Jersey Community Unit School District 100 Superintendent Jim Whiteside verified that Holyfield was not a student of the school district but had been in the past.

A controversy has arisen over the use of Tasers, an acronym for the Thomas A. Swift Electric Rifle. According to an Associated Press article, Tasers have been either cited as a contributing factor or the cause of death in more than 180 people since 1986.

Tasers deliver a 50,000-volt jolt through two barbed darts (probes) that can penetrate clothing. The shock can be delivered a number of times while the barbs are in place.

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