Santa Rosa man dies after police use stun gun twice

SANTA ROSA, Calif. - A 40-year-old California man died in police custody last week after officers used a stun gun on him twice in under a minute, authorities said Wednesday.

Jordan Pas was pronounced dead at a hospital at 2:17 a.m. Thursday in Santa Rosa, about 55 miles north of San Francisco, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. The sheriff’s office is investigating Pas’ death.

Eight officers and a sergeant from the Santa Rosa Police Department are on paid administrative leave, according to the police department They are Sgt. Matt Crosbie and Officers Frank Sedeno, David Lamb, Nick Madarus, Joe Richards, Jonathan Morgan, Robert Moore, Bradley Marweg and Jerry Ellsworth.

The sheriff’s office provided details about the Nov. 18 incident but a Facebook post issued Wednesday did not say which officers used their stun guns. The Facebook post included a photo of the gun Pas reportedly had before his encounter with the officers, as well as a photo of him allegedly pointing the firearm into a car.

Sgt. Juan Valencia, a spokesperson for the sheriff, said in an email Wednesday that Pas’ autopsy had been conducted last week but he did not provide details.

At 1:19 a.m., the Santa Rosa Police Department got a phone call reporting several gunshots being fired in the street. Several other calls came in reporting a man — later identified as Pas through surveillance video — was walking around the neighborhood with a gun. The surveillance footage showed Pas firing a rifle into a car, the sheriff’s office said.

MORE: Neighbors describe confrontation where man died in Santa Rosa police custody

Officers found Pas 10 minutes later, shirtless and holding a "large landscaping rock in his right hand." He was pacing and sweating profusely on a cold night, the sheriff’s office said.

The officers repeatedly told Pas to drop the rock and threatened to use a stun gun on him. He did not comply, the sheriff’s office said.

At 1:35 a.m., an officer used stun gun on him, causing him to drop the rock and fall backward onto his knees. He crawled over to another large rock and tried to throw it at the approaching officers, the sheriff’s office said.

An officer used a stun gun on Pas again — less than a minute after the first time — as he allegedly "continued resisting by trying to get up."

The sheriff’s office says Pas was lying on his stomach with his arms under his body as he tried to push himself up "as officers tried to hold him down." He allegedly resisted their efforts "by tensing up" and continuing not to comply with their orders.

The sheriff’s office account does not detail exactly how the officers tried to hold Pas down.

Pas was handcuffed at 1:36 a.m. and rolled to his left side so officers could monitor his breathing. But he was not responsive to "verbal or physical stimulus."

Three minutes later, suspecting Pas had overdosed on narcotics, an officer administered one dose of Narcan. 

Narcan, the brand name for the drug naloxone, works to reverse an opioid overdose.

The vast majority of people who overdose survive if given naloxone. The sheriff’s office has not released the results of Pas’ autopsy and toxicology test yet, which would show if he had opioids in his system.

At 1:40 a.m., medical personnel arrived to take Pas to the hospital.

By 2:17 a.m., Pas was pronounced dead.