Elbert County, Colorado Sheriff's Deputy Cleared in Death

ELBERT COUNTY, Colorado -- An Elbert County sheriff’s deputy was justified when he used a Taser against a delusional man who later died in part due to the shocks, authorities said Wednesday.

The use of the Taser against Christopher Poer was justified because the deputy, Christopher Dickey, needed it to defend himself and others from “the threat posed by Mr. Poer,” 18th Judicial District Chief Deputy Attorney Elizabeth Oldham wrote in a letter released Wednesday.

“Mr. Poer was armed with a handgun at the time of his arrest, was actively resisting arrest, and was suspected of felony menacing and other erratic and criminal behavior, including multiple shots fired at approximately the same time as the arrival of Elbert County deputies,” Oldham’s letter stated.

Poer called 911 on the evening of April 12 and said he was being watched and recorded by unknown people in a trailer, according to the letter, which describes Poer’s call as “delusional, erratic and bizarre.”

About two hours after the first call, Poer reported to 911 dispatchers that he had been robbed. Poer then put a woman on the phone, who said Poer was having a delusional episode and had a loaded gun. The woman is not named in the letter.

Three deputies responded to the home in Elizabeth as the woman told dispatchers that Poer had pointed the gun at her before going into a field and shooting the gun. Deputies heard the shots and Poer yelling as they approached, according to the letter.

Body cameras recorded one of the deputies yelling at Poer as they moved toward where he was lying in the field, the letter stated. The deputy used expletives, including the instruction to “put your (expletive) hands up or I’m going to shoot your (expletive).”

Poer did not put his hands up and a deputy kicked Poer to get him to roll over. Deputies then saw a handgun near Poer’s feet and picked it up. Investigators later found that the handgun did not have any ammunition left.

Poer continued to resist arrest and deputies couldn’t handcuff him, the letter states. Dickey then used his Taser on Poer’s back before using it against the man’s leg, for a total of two 5-second pulses. Poer continued to resist arrest despite the shocks until a different deputy struck him in the head.

The deputies then realized that Poer was foaming at the mouth and did not have a pulse, according to the letter. They called for medical help while doing CPR.

Poer died at a hospital about 45 minutes later. A coroner ruled the death a homicide, meaning it was at least partially caused by another person, and determined that Poer’s death was caused by a combination of the Taser shocks, amphetamines and heart disease, according to the letter. The coroner found a “toxic-lethal” level of drugs in his blood.

“At the time of the use of the Taser, none of the deputies were aware of the toxic level of amphetamines in his system,” Oldham wrote. “Nor were they aware of his medical conditions such as his chronic stage III kidney disease and congestive heart failure.”

The woman in the home that night later told investigators that Poer had contacted her about buying one of the service dogs she raises, according to the letter. The woman said Poer told her he had served in special forces in the military and that he said he stopped taking his medication three days before he was killed.

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