Montgomery County police are investigating the death of a man in Gaithersburg after two officers used their tasers on him.
Police were called to the 8800 block of Cross Country Place shortly after 6 p.m. Friday for a report of a man acting strangely. The caller told police that the man was standing in a parked pick-up truck, yelling profanities, hitting the truck with rocks, and crawling on other vehicles.
Investigators say the first responding officer saw the man, identified as 51-year-old Anthony Howard, jump from the pick-up truck to the roof of an adjacent SUV. The officer ordered the man down from the SUV. Howard complied but continued to act "aggressively and strangely," according to police. The officer eventually used pepper spray, and Howard ran a short distance away.
After Howard picked up and dropped both a large potted plant and a landscaping rock, police say he picked up a child's scooter and used it to strike the front door of 8830 Cross Country Place. When he allegedly refused to obey police commands to leave the porch of the house, the two officers used their tasers.
Fire/Rescue personnel were called to the scene after officers noticed Howard wasn't breathing. CPR was administered, and the man was taken to Shady Grove Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police are asking anyone who saw the incident to contact the Major Crimes Division at 240-773-5070.
The five officers involved in the incident have been placed on administrative leave as police continue to investigate.
