Tasered man told police 'I'm about to die' - inquest

A father-of-three told police "I'm about to die, I beg you" after being Tasered multiple times, an inquest heard.

Police previously said Sali Byberi was resisting arrest - for allegedly assaulting an officer - at his home in Braintree in November 2022.

The 29-year-old was Tasered, but subsequently became unwell and was pronounced dead at the scene soon after.

A jury at Essex coroner's court was shown police-worn body camera footage in the moments leading up to his death.

The provisional cause of death after a forensic post-mortem examination was given as "complications resulting from acute cocaine toxicity".

Officers from Essex Police were called to a disturbance in Clockhouse Way at about 11:30 on 21 November.

In the footage, Mr Byberi could be seen opening the door and a woman, his partner, was seen leaving the flat.

He was heard saying: "I've done nothing wrong, are you being serious?"

Mr Byberi was heard shouting "I cannot trust that you are police, that's fake uniform and you know it", before also accusing an officer of trying to "take my stuff".

A female police officer eventually yelled "stop shouting at me, I've had enough" and accused him of being "very intimidating".

Mr Byberi was seen running out of the flat and down a corridor, as his behaviour escalated, and a single Taser was discharged multiple times as he was accused of resisting arrest on suspicion of assaulting an officer.

The jurors heard in the video how he had been warned "we've got Tasers, stop" and "you're being aggressive, I will Taser you" by the officers.

Mr Byberi ended up on his knees leaning against a cabinet in a bedroom and was handcuffed.

Police told him to breathe, as he struggled for breath, and he said: "I'm about to die, I beg you, I beg of you."

Officers made him sit on the bed and he repeated: "Please, I haven't done anything, I beg of you."

A female police officer subsequently said "I think he's got acute behavioural disorder" and an ambulance was called.

Paramedics could be seen covering his head in cold towels and one said: "Stop fighting against us, stop struggling."

He was pronounced dead at about 13:15.

The coroner was told Mr Byberi had 811 micrograms of cocaine per litre of blood when his body was examined.

Home Office pathologist Ben Swift told the court that this level was in the range associated with fatalities.

Jurors were also told Mr Byberi was a "chronic cocaine abuser".

He ran a family car-wash business in Sudbury, Suffolk.

The inquest continues.

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