A suspected bank robber is dead after being subdued by a police taser gun in Langley, B.C., Tuesday.
Langley RCMP Cpl. Peter Thiessen said the "conductive energy weapon'' was considered appropriate because the man was thought to be armed and therefore a threat to a woman inside a residence where he had taken refuge.
Thiessen said the incident began at around 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, when the man was observed robbing a branch of the Royal Bank.
The man, who is described as being in his early 40s, was followed to a residence in Langley.
Thiessen said police were at the house when the man crashed through a second-storey window, naked and bleeding from a chest wound.
Thiessen said a Taser was deployed after a police dog failed to engage the man and he tried to re-enter the house, where a woman was still inside
"They Tasered him,'' said Thiessen. "They [police] made this decision because it was thought to be in the best interests of the public and the officers involved,'' he said. The man was transported to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Thiessen could not say how soon the man died after being Tasered. A woman has since been taken into custody.
With reports by CTV British Columbia's Michele Brunoro, Reshmi Nair, and The Canadian Press
