{"id":72556,"date":"2016-08-28T10:58:58","date_gmt":"2016-08-28T14:58:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=72556"},"modified":"2016-08-27T22:06:07","modified_gmt":"2016-08-28T02:06:07","slug":"schneiderman-announces-investigation-results-in-death-of-carmel-resident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=72556","title":{"rendered":"Schneiderman announces investigation results in death of Carmel resident"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Attorny_General_Eric_T_Schneiderman\"<\/a><\/strong>Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today released a detailed report<\/a> from his Special Investigations and Prosecution Unit regarding the death of Carmel resident Joseph Seguin following a November 2015 interaction with members of the Carmel Police Department. The investigation, led by Chief of the Special Investigations and Prosecutions Unit Alvin Bragg, found no criminal culpability in the death of Mr. Seguin.<\/span><\/p>\n

Evidence uncovered during the investigation showed that the use of force by Carmel Police officers against Joseph Seguin on November 30, 2015, was justified under New York Penal Law, due to Seguin\u2019s repeated, and at times violent, resistance to arrest by officers attempting to arrest Seguin shortly after he physically attacked a woman on the premises.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the report, officers responded to a residence shortly after 1:34 a.m. after receiving a 911 call about a woman being assaulted. Officers arrived to find Seguin assaulting a woman in his bedroom.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to several civilian witnesses and police accounts, when police arrived Seguin violently resisted arrest, kicking and punching officers, and grabbing a dog cage that contained a pit bull. When officers were finally able to free Seguin\u2019s hands from the dog cage, he locked his hands beneath his body to prevent officers from applying handcuffs. \u00a0In their attempt to effectuate an arrest, officers deployed a Taser dart into Seguin\u2019s abdomen; Seguin died shortly thereafter.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to an autopsy, microscopy, and toxicology conducted by the Putnam County Medical Examiner, Mr. Seguin\u2019s cause of death was \u201ccardiac arrest during [an] excited state, while under the influence of phencyclidine [PCP], after being Tasered and handcuffed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As part of the investigation, investigators reviewed autopsy, microscopy, and toxicology records from the Putnam County Coroner \/ Medical Examiner; interviewed civilian witnesses who saw or heard various parts of the incident; interviewed Carmel Police Department officers and Emergency Medical Technicians wh0 responded to the scene; and reviewed 911 dispatch recordings, video captured by one civilian witness, and video and audio captured by a Taser used during the incident.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe death of Mr. Seguin is a tragedy, and we extend our condolences to his family and friends,\u201dAttorney General Schneiderman <\/strong>said. \u201cOur exhaustive review of this case has concluded that Carmel police were justified in their use of force, including their use of a Taser, in their effort to arrest Mr. Seguin. My office remains committed to a thorough and transparent accounting of any case that falls under the Executive Order.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The report was produced as part of Schneiderman\u2019s role as the state\u2019s special prosecutor. In July 2015, Gov. Andrew Cuomo appointed the Attorney General to that role to oversee investigations into incidents where unarmed civilians die during interactions with police or in incidents where there is significant question as to whether the civilian was armed.<\/span><\/p>\n

The investigation, as detailed in the report, describes the following timeline of events:<\/span><\/p>\n