Hialeah Police Investigating Death of Man Shot With Taser After Alleged Dog Beatings

Hialeah Police are investigating the death of a man who they say was Tasered after he was found beating two dogs and resisting officers

Hialeah Police are investigating the death of a man who they say was Tasered after he was found beating two dogs and resisting officers.

Treon Johnson, 27, died following the incident that happened Thursday morning when officer responded to a 911 emergency disturbance call in the area of East 7th Avenue and 24th Street, Hialeah Police spokesman Carl Zogby said Monday.

The caller told police a man had jumped into his backyard and was beating his dog with a metal pipe, Zogby said. Witnesses told officer the man then jumped into a neighboring yard and began beating another dog, Zogby said.

When officers arrived, the man, Johnson, tried to run away and was taken into custody after a brief foot chase followed by Johnson's violent resistance toward officers, Zogby said.

Officers used physical force, pepper spray and a Taser to restrain Johnson, Zogby said.

Johnson’s family wants answers and believes the police may have used unnecessary deadly force.

"I need to know if my child wasn't Tased would he be living today?" asked Johnson’s mother, Angela Curry.

After he was taken into custody, Johnson's health began to decline and he was taken to Hialeah Hospital, Zogby said. He was eventually taken to North Shore Hospital and then Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he died around 6 p.m., Zogby said.

According to Zogby, there is "no obvious or clear cause of death at this time." Police are waiting for complete results, including toxicology, from the medical examiner for a final determination of the cause and method of death, he said.

Medical records obtained by NBC 6 said that Johnson had a healthy history and collapsed before he was taken into custody.

A medical report also showed that Johnson had marijuana in his system.

Johnson’s parents want to know whether their son was a victim of too much force or excessive voltage.

"I don’t think it’s fair that what happened to him,” said his father, Ricky Curry. “And my family, my wife, and my cousin here, we want closure.”

Johnson is a featured fighter in the upcoming movie Dawg Fight, about bare-knuckle backyard fighting in Perrine, according to the Miami Herald.

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