Domestic dispute suspect death investigated

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - Mobile police say a man died shortly after he was tased Tuesday morning. Officers said they had to subdue him after responding to a domestic dispute on Estate Drive.

Mobile police said they used a Taser on the man. They claimed it had little or no effect on him, so they had to physically restrain him.

Now the department is launching an investigation.

FOX10 News spoke with a person who claimed to have seen the incident and alleged that police used excessive force. 

Mobile police said the front yard was where 42-year-old Gregory Rachel spent his last few moments.

At around 3 a.m. on Tuesday, police responded to a domestic dispute. Officials said a woman was injured. A witness, who didn't want to be identified, said Rachel was acting delusional.

"The man was running out to the driveway with his hands up, screaming weird stuff,” said the witness.

Police said Rachel ignored several commands and resisted the officers, and the witness saw the officers use a Taser on Rachel at least four times.

The witness recalled "[The police] still couldn't get him down. Then two other officers come up, they've got him in the ditch with batons, beating him with batons and kicking him, kicking him, and finally got him down. One of the officers sat on top of his back for a few minutes."

Police said soon after he was subdued, Rachel showed signs of medical distress, and later died at Providence Hospital.

We shared the witness' statement with Mobile police, and a spokesman said an investigation has already been launched.

"The internal affairs will look at all the facts that went on and compare it to policies, and try to determine whether or not policy was followed in this," Mobile spokesman Cpl. Christopher Levy said.

The witness believes police used excessive force.

"I think it was too rough. You can't sit on somebody's back while they're in a ditch, you can't breathe,” the witness said.

But a Mobile police spokesman said the department will not jump to conclusions.

"It's too early to tell the answer to that right now because there's still a number of witnesses we need to talk to, we need to talk to a number of officers that were involved, and we need to compare it to the policies," Levy said.

The witness said Rachel needed help, not handcuffs. The witness described Rachel as a 'gentle giant' who loved his family. The witness did not understand why Rachel was behaving this way.

"He wasn't fighting at them, he wasn't fighting. He was just having a breakdown or something,” said the witness.

Mobile police said the investigation will take a few months. It will comprise of a homicide investigation and a homicide investigation.

Chief Micheal T. Williams has decided to keep the officers on regular duty.

Police said an autopsy was being done on Tuesday, but as of now, that information has not been released yet.

The police spokesman said it's unknown how exactly Rachel died - whether it was because of the physical restraint or if it was because of his alleged nervous breakdown. That's what they hope to figure out during the course of the investigation.

Police said Rachel left behind a wife and two children. They are staying with family members.