Metro identifies officers who used Taser before man’s death

By Rich Coleman

Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2010 | 5:54 p.m.

Metro Police identified two officers Tuesday who used a Taser to subdue a man who died in police custody.

Mark Hatten, 35, has been with Metro since January 2007 and Timothy English, 24, has been with Metro since June 2008. Both were placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure in such incidents.

Police said an officer stopped a vehicle at 1:07 a.m. Saturday near the 1000 block of West Lake Mead Boulevard, near Martin L. King Boulevard in West Las Vegas.

While the officer was speaking to Anthony Jones, 44, of Las Vegas, Jones tried to flee on foot, police said. Jones ran north across Lake Mead Boulevard and jumped over a wall into the backyard of an abandoned home in the 1000 block of Hart Avenue.

The officer followed Jones into the backyard as other officers arrived. The officers tried to take Jones into custody, but he "aggressively" resisted, police said.

The officers used a Taser on Jones several times. He was taken into custody and then officers noticed he was in medical distress.

Jones was taken to Valley Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.