Police officers involved in death are identified

Friday, June 10, 2005 | 9:53 a.m.

The two Metro Police officers involved in Monday's in-custody death outside of the Western hotel on Fremont Street have been identified as Officer Matthew Ruiz and Sgt. Cindy Rodriguez.

Ruiz, 27, was hired by Metro in July 2000. Rodriguez, 40, has been with the department since June 1989. They are on paid leave while the incident is investigated.

The name of the 47-year-old man who died had not yet been released Thursday night because, the coroner's office said, authorities have not yet been able to locate his family. His cause and manner of death cannot be released until his name is released, officials said.

If medical examiners determine his death was a homicide, a coroner's inquest will be scheduled.

The man was causing a disturbance at the hotel and when Ruiz responded they got into a struggle on the sidewalk, police said. Rodriguez arrived to help and used her Taser gun on the man twice so they could handcuff him while they awaited paramedics. They were going to take him to the hospital for an evaluation.

On the gurney the man continued to struggle and Ruiz shocked him a third time while he was still in handcuffs, police said. Metro has a policy against using a Taser on those who are cuffed, and police officials said they were trying to determine whether Ruiz violated the policy.