The Pennsylvania State Police announced on April 3 that the investigation into the death of John “Koo Koo” Miller, a Donora resident who died following an encounter with local police in March, could take four to six months.
Miller, 57, lost consciousness during a March 17 incident outside Donora Towers where a Taser was reportedly used, reported the Mon Valley Independent.
He died five days later on March 22 after being transferred from Penn Highlands Mon Valley to a Pittsburgh hospital. According to Trooper Kalee Barnhart, public information officer for Troop B (Belle Vernon), investigators are waiting for several key reports before determining what happened.
“I heard back from the investigating trooper. He said we are waiting on the official report from Axon,” Barnhart said.
Axon Enterprise, headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., is the company that manufactures Tasers and body cameras used by many police departments.
State police are also awaiting the official cause and manner of death from the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office, which Barnhart said could take four to six months. Toxicology results are still pending and may require an additional four to six weeks for completion. “We are working with the DA’s office additionally, but for now, we are waiting on all of those reports,” Barnhart said. “So hopefully we will, in four to six months, have some answers.”
Donora Police were initially called to Donora Towers for an unrelated incident on March 17 when Miller was recognized by officers as someone believed to be wanted on a DUI warrant. After being confronted by police and reportedly running away, a Taser was deployed against him. Relatives have questioned whether there was an active warrant and whether use of force was justified.
Investigators have not disclosed how many times the Taser was used or if body camera footage exists. It is also unclear whether criminal charges could be filed as state police continue working with the Washington County District Attorney’s Office.
Earlier this week, family members said they had heard that the officer involved had been placed on paid administrative leave; however, Donora officials said Thursday that the officer remains actively employed as a borough police officer. Mayor Don Pavelko previously indicated that findings would be shared once the investigation concludes.
More than 1,000 people in the United States died following police use of a Taser between 2001 and 2018. That’s according to a Reuters investigation that examined cases from the 17-year span, reported Grand Canyon Times. In Pennsylvania, there were 28 such deaths, according to the report.
The database was developed as part of a multi-year Reuters investigation that examined police reports, autopsies, court records and news accounts. In about 21% of cases where a cause of death was available, coroners or medical examiners cited the Taser as a cause or contributing factor, Reuters reported.