The death of a Bronx man who was Tased by cops in November was ruled a homicide — and he was high on cocaine and an ingredient found in bath salts, officials said Wednesday.
Ariel Galarza, 49, was shocked twice by Sgt. William Melrose on Nov. 2 after he and three other cops responded to a report of an emotionally disturbed person with a knife at a Pelham Bay apartment.
“The manner of death in this case means that death resulted in whole or in part from the actions of another person or persons and not primarily from natural causes such as disease,” Medical Examiner’s Office spokeswoman Julie Bolcer said.
The cause of Galarza’s death was “cardiac arrest following physical exertion, restraint and use of conducted electrical weapon in an individual with hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, acute drug intoxication (cocaine and n-ethylpentylone) and obesity,” Bolcer said.
N-ethylpentylone is the most common ingredient in bath salts.
Police said Galarza had threatened the officers with a bottle, when the sergeant used his Taser. The sergeant shocked him a second time when he struggled while being cuffed, cops said. Galarza went into cardiac arrest and died later at a hospital.
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office announced a few days later that it was investigating the death partly because Galarza was not armed with a deadly weapon. No knife was ever recovered.
Galarza’s family members, who have said he struggled with a learning disability, hired lawyer Sanford Rubenstein, who’s known for filing lawsuits against cops and the NYPD in high profile cases. He did not immediately return a call seeking comment.