Combative Man Tased and Dies in Custody in Burke County

A combative man who was tased by Burke County Deputies early this morning in Louisville became unresponsive and died at Burke Health.

A news release from the Burke County Sheriff's Office says EMA requested help from deputies in the 1000 block of Bailey Road in Louisville at 12:11 am.  Deputies reportedly talked Freddie Walker into going to the hospital for an evaluation after getting a call about combative male.

The report says Walker got out of a family member's car, raised his fist at a paramedic in an attempt to hit him, then moved aggressively toward a deputy.

"One deputy deployed their taser, which was unsuccessful in connecting, then the other deputy on the scene deployed their taser which successfully connected and Walker went to the ground," according to the news release.

Walker reportedly got up several times after being told to stay down and turn over.  "A deputy reenergized the taser in an attempt to keep control of him, while Walker was kicking, getting up, and refusing to obey commands," according to the release.

Once Walker was restrained, he became unresponsive and was transported to Burke Health where he was pronounced dead.

The Columbia County Sheriff's Office Force Investigation Team was contacted and responded to handle the investigation.

No other information is being released at this time, pending further investigation.