Crime & Safety
Medical Examiner Rules Death of Westlake Man During Arrest Homicide
Howard Hammon was struck twice by Taser, but that was not the cause of death.
Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner Thomas Gilson has ruled homicide in the death of a Westlake man who died during arrest by Middleburg Heights police.
Howard Hammon, 41, of Westlake f. According to reports from WTAM 1100, Middleburg Heights Police Chief John Maddox said Hammon resisted arrest after police found marijuana on him. Two of the four officers at the scene used Tasers to subdue Hammon, who was then taken to Southwest General Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Hammon was high at the time, according to an official statement from Gilson. He died a “sudden death in association with physical altercation, prone positioning with handcuffing, intoxication by the combined effects of ethanol, opiates and cannabinoids, and cardiac hypertrophy."
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Hammon suffered from obesity, atherosclerotic and hypertensive cardiovascular disease as well, according to the statement.
The statement does not say that police are at fault for the death.
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