Daniel Landeros, 31

Elk Grove, California
November 30, 2016

Agencies: Sacramento County sheriff’s Department California | Elk Grove Police Department California

Cause of death: Taser

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Last updated: almost 6 years ago

Overview

A wrong-way driver died in Elk Grove police custody Wednesday night after officers shot him twice with a Taser stun gun and restrained him following a crash on Elk Grove Boulevard.

The Sacramento County Coroner identified the man on Thursday as Daniel Landeros, 41, of Elk Grove.

Elk Grove police spokesman Officer Christopher Trim said the incident began at about 10 p.m., when dispatchers received reports of a white pickup truck running red lights at Laguna Boulevard and Bruceville Road. A short time later, officers in the nearby area of Elk Grove Boulevard and Ginther Drive saw a white pickup driving east in a westbound lane on Elk Grove Boulevard.

The officers asked for help intercepting the wrong-way driver, but before police could stop him, the driver caused a crash involving his truck and three other vehicles. He fled on foot.

When officers caught up, the man appeared to want to fight them, Trim said. One officer fired a Taser, but the stun gun didn’t penetrate the man’s jacket, he said.

The man ran away again, then turned around and took an aggressive stance, Trim said. The same officer deployed his Taser once more. This time it was effective and temporarily incapacited the man, he said.

“He was taken to the ground,” Trim said. “When officers were trying to handcuff him, he physically resisted their efforts, and a struggle took place.”

The man was eventually handcuffed and officers requested that a device that securely wraps up a resistant suspect be brought to the scene. Before it arrived, officers noticed the man was unresponsive, Trim said. They tried to revive him and called for an ambulance, but he was pronounced dead at the hospital.

The three drivers involved in the collision suffered minor to moderate injuries, Trim said.

Trim said the coroner would determine if the driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

An investigation will be conducted by the Elk Grove Police Department’s Investigation Bureau, which is standard practice for any officer-involved in-custody death, according to Trim.

The officers in the incident were not injured during the struggle. They will be placed on paid administrative leave in accordance with department policy.