A medical report released Tuesday by the Jefferson County coroner said that shocks from police Taser guns did not kill a Louisville man.
Larry Noles, 52, was shocked multiple times by police after he ran naked into the intersection of Seventh Street and Algonquin Parkway in September.
Police said Noles was acting erratically and refused their orders to calm down before he was shocked several times by officers at the scene.
According to the report by coroner Dr. Ron Holmes, Noles died of Bell’s mania and excited delirium.
Holmes said Noles' body was in a state of hyperactivity, and the Taser shocks did not play a role in his death.
"Apparently, it’s relatively rare," Holmes said of Noles’ condition."I've been here four years it's the first time I've heard of it. According the medical examiner and also police, Mr. Noles had voluntary movement for 30 seconds after the Taser shocks."
Holmes said Bell’s mania often befalls patients with a history of mental illness, of which Noles’ family said he had battled since being released from military service.
Noles' family however, disagreed with the coroner’s assessment of his cause of death.
"The family feels the taser had something to do with the death," community activist Christopher 2X said."That's how they feel. I think the family's wise enough to seek more counsel."
2X said a toxicology report showed that there was no drugs or alcohol in Noles' system at the time of the incident, and Holmes said Noles had no pre-existing medical conditions.
2X also said that police should have followed procedures put forth in a training bulletin obtained in September by WLKY that stated that when dealing with a person showing signs of excited delirium, physical restraint techniques should be used along with the Taser guns.
"Were (those procedures) in place, were they followed the way they were trained in the way to deal with that kind of potential mental patient?" 2X said.
Noles' son said that regardless of the medical examiner's finding, he still believes the Taser shocks, not emotional problems, killed his father.
"We'd been through this before and he came out of it strong," Lenny Brown said. "Now, you put those Tasers to him and he's gone. The tasers did it. Period."
Meanwhile, Louisville police officials said they are waiting on several opinions ranging from criminal investigators to its Public Integrity Unit to determine if Noles death was avoidable.
"After all incidents, especially one of this magnitude, we'll review to make sure policies are followed," police spokesman Dwight Mitchell said.
While the medical examiner’s findings pinpointed the cause of death, the manner of death has yet to be determined, according to the coroner’s office.
