A 29-year-old man Greek-American with a samurai sword in hand who was tased by NYPD officers died of cardiac arrest.
George Zapantis, 29, was arrested by police officers with the sword in his hands after cops responded to Zapantis’ apartment on 150th Street in Queens on Sunday night. Officers told Zapantis to drop his sword but he didn’t, according to the NYPD and it was then that they used their Tasers at least twice.
Zapantis was subdued by officers and then he appeared to suffer a medical issue, police said. He was transported to NY-Presbyterian Queens where he was pronounced dead.
The family’s lawyer said the 29-year-old had mental health issues and may have resisted arrest but he was unarmed when he was being handcuffed.
Zapantis’s mother Athanasia Zapantis said a neighbor who called 911 had a history of harassing her son, and that the neighbor was clapping as police tased and arrested Zapantis.
“There were times when George said he couldn’t breathe with the police when they pulled his shirt off”, a neighbour that was present stated, “but they shouted at him, ‘don’t play this card, no one is choking you'”.
“I’m crying because I was not here for my son in his last moments, and he died in such a horrible way”, his mother said. “He was everything … He died for no reason”.
George Vomvolakis, the attorney representing the family, disputes the NYPD’s account, telling he wants full transparency in the NYPD’s investigation.
“We want to view the body cam footage and any potential videos or witness statements they may have in order to confirm their accusation that Mr. Zapantis was armed and that their use of the Taser…was justified”, said Vomvolakis, who added that he’s seen three videos of the incident showing Zapantis with no sword in his hand when he was taken down by police and zapped at least twice.
“The video we have shows that his back was turned to them, his hands were behind his back and there were four or five officers screaming at him and tasing at him, and yelling at him to not resist”, said Vomvolakis.
