Police officer sustained knee injury during Taser incident, inquest hears

An inquest has been informed that a police constable suffered a ruptured knee during an altercation with an individual who was subjected to a Taser discharge and subsequently passed away. Sali Byberi is accused of assaulting the officer while under the influence of cocaine and resisting apprehension at his residence in Braintree on November 21, 2022. The 29-year-old individual received a Taser shock during the confrontation, after which he became ill and succumbed at the location. Testifying at Essex coroner’s court, an officer stated that “split-second decisions” were necessitated by a situation that was becoming progressively hazardous. Jurors had previously been informed that the preliminary cause of Mr. Byberi’s death was identified as “complications resulting from acute cocaine toxicity.” Mr. Byberi, a father of three, operated a family-owned car wash enterprise in Sudbury, Suffolk. Law enforcement was summoned to a disturbance on Clockhouse Way around 11:30 GMT on the day Mr. Byberi died. The inquest has previously heard that Mr. Byberi was startled by the presence of the responding officers. Officer G1, a male constable speaking anonymously, described Mr. Byberi as “erratic and difficult to communicate with” when they arrived. “His voice was raised then lower, raised then lower. It was difficult to build a rapport with him,” G1 stated. G1 informed the jury that a knuckleduster was discovered within Mr. Byberi’s living room. He elaborated: “I was starting to become more concerned with his behaviour and what he was going to do.” The officer recounted drawing his Taser after Mr. Byberi “significantly pushed” him at the residence, but the close distance between them prevented the device’s deployment. “He hit me to the left side of my body. He was trying to get free from arrest at that point and I was making split-second decisions,” G1 testified. The court heard that a second officer, identified as R7, deployed her Taser, resulting in Mr. Byberi falling to the floor and bringing G1 down with him. Nevertheless, the device was not “completely effective,” prompting R7 to discharge it a second time, as presented to the jury. “Subsequently, I found I had a fully ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in my knee… It gave way and incapacitated me,” G1 further stated, clarifying that his knee had been previously “vulnerable” to injury. G1 reported that two additional police officers arrived to provide support and successfully handcuffed Mr. Byberi, who was heard shouting, “you’re going to kill me.” G1 also mentioned that he requested an ambulance, and video evidence previously viewed by the jury depicted Mr. Byberi receiving aid from paramedics afterward. Despite medical intervention, he was declared deceased around 13:15. The ongoing inquest is still in session. For updates on Essex news, follow BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram, and X. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content found on external websites. Information regarding our external linking policy is available.