Greenville Officers Involved In Monday's Taser Incident Identified

After a Greenville man hit by a Taser died Monday, Greenville Police said they are reviewing the incident.

Police tried to deliver papers to Andrew Torres, 39, on Augusta Street Monday, to have the man involuntarily committed.

Torres, according to his family, suffered from mental illness for a few years.

Torres became combative, according to police, when they tried to apprehend him.

An officer used a Taser on the man.

About 10 minutes later, while handcuffing Torres, police said he became unresponsive. An ambulance reported to the scene, found Torres in cardiac arrest and rushed him to the hospital.

Medical personnel pronounced him dead at 5:40 p.m., according to the Greenville County Coroner’s Office.

Chief Terri Wilfong said the department is reviewing Monday’s incident.

She said the department’s used Tasers for six years without any problems.

Officers go through extensive training to use a Taser and must be re-certified ever year.

She said three officers reported to Augusta Street to issue papers against Torres. Two used their Tasers. One officer used a M26 model. The other used an X26.

While Wilfong said officers also get trained to deal with mentally ill citizens, the National Alliance for Mental Illness feels like officers could use more.

Officials with NAMI said they’ve offered crisis intervention training to the Greenville PD – as recently as last week – but the Wilfong didn’t agree to put her officers through it.

She said she was, however, in the process of setting up the training for her department.

Monday night’s incident wasn’t the first time Torres ran into trouble with police.

Two other incident reports state he’s been violent with officers in the past. In 2008, a report stated he pulled a knife on officers. During that incident, the report shows officers used a Taser then to subdue him.

In 2004 police arrested Torres in 2004 for assaulting a police officer in Washington, D.C.

Torres’ family said they’ve worked with NAMI to get help for him for years.

Fletcher Mann with NAMI said the family was at the “end of their rope.”

This isn’t the first time they’ve tried to commit Torres.

While police are looking at their Taser policy, the coroner’s office reported the cause of death is “still pending.”

The coroner is waiting for toxicology tests, results from a Taser analysis and other test results to make a final determination.

The Coroner’s Office states it could take up to six weeks before the determination is made.

Wilfong identified the officers involved in the incident:

• Officer Kevin Hill
• Officer Eric Koepke
• Officer Dale Dirton

All three officers have more than two years of experience with the GPD.

Watch News Channel 7 and wspa.com for updates.