Family identifies man Tased by police

A man died in southwest Rochester Sunday morning after being Tased by a Rochester Police Department officer, leaving the police chief and mayor calling for calm and his family asking what exactly happened.

Police Chief Michael Ciminelli declined to release the man's name but family identified him as Richard Gregory Davis, 50, a former Marine, father of six and grandfather of 11.

His death, which police and a witness say came after he charged at officers, comes at a time of increased tension across the country between minorities and mostly-white police forces. Rochester police have made an effort to improve relations with residents in poor neighborhoods like the one in southwest Rochester where Davis died.

Police responded to Tremont Street at about 9 a.m. Sunday upon receiving reports that Davis, driving a red pickup truck, had crashed into another vehicle and Calvary Spiritual Church, at the corner of Tremont and Morgan streets, then fled on foot.

After police and firefighters arrived, Davis allegedly returned and, disobeying police orders, got back in his truck. He proceeded to crash into a street sign, a fence and a house, where he knocked over a gas meter, Ciminelli said.

He then locked himself in the cab as officers shouted for him to come out with his hands up.

Instead, according to police and a witness, Davis waited about five minutes, then came out charging at the police officers with fists clenched. One of the officers on the scene Tased him.

Ciminelli would not say where the Taser barbs struck the man. He also did not release the name of the officer who fired the Taser, citing departmental protocol.

Davis received medical attention at the scene from certified emergency medical technicians and was then taken by ambulance to Strong Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Ciminelli said. An autopsy is being conducted.

The department and the district attorney's office are working together on an investigation of the incident. There will also be an internal investigation, Ciminelli said.

Police did not respond Sunday to a question about whether Davis' death was captured on video. The group United Christian Ministry of Western New York took the opportunity to renew its call for body cameras for police departments.

Davis' brother, Michael Davis Sr., said his brother was a veteran and a grandfather who had been living in Buffalo but recently returned to Rochester. He weighed about 300 pounds and had a breathing problem, his brother said.

Michael Davis Sr., speaking on Tremont Street where the incident occurred, said his brother served with the Marines in Beirut, Lebanon in the 1980s.

"I don't know what was going on over here or what happened," he said. "They say he charged at the officers with his fists clenched. My brother is 300 pounds. He can barely breathe just walking. Whether he was intoxicated or whatever — I don't understand why he was Tased."

Davis Sr. said he now has lost two brothers on Tremont Street. In 2000, Alvin Davis died when an abandoned house burned on the other end of the street.

Mayor Lovely Warren attended the police press conference at the Rochester Public Safety Building after being summoned hastily on a Sunday afternoon.

"We cannot speculate what caused this incident to occur and we need to wait for the medical examiner's report to know if drugs, alcohol, mental illness, physical illness or some other factor was at play," she said. "Further speculation should end now while we wait for definitive answers. What I do know is this matter was taken seriously from the moment neighbors called 911 to report that chaos was occurring on Tremont and Morgan streets."

Charles Sanders, who lives a few doors down from the site of the confrontation on Tremont Street, said he had seen Davis driving wildly up and down the street in the red truck in the past several days.

Sanders recounted the final moments: "The police told him, 'get out.' ... He got out with his hands (up). They said, 'Get on your knees.' He acted like he didn't hear them. They said, 'Get on your knees.' He went charging at them people and that's when they stung him."

Ciminelli acknowledged the anger across the country at a series of black deaths at the hands of police. He said the department hopes its community outreach efforts over the last several months will earn it the respect of citizens.

"At this point, we're going to rely on the fact that we've been working on a good and trusting relationship," he said. "Hopefully people will give us the time we need to conduct a thorough investigation. We understand we are accountable to the community for our police officers' actions, and we intend to live up to that accountability."

Additional reporting by staff writers Sal Maiorana and Lauren Petracca.

JMURPHY7@DemocratandChronicle.com