Man dies after being 'tasered': Martin Baskeyfield was stopped by police in Burslem
POLICE are being investigated over the death of a 44-year-old man – three months after he was shot with a Taser gun.
Motorist Martin Baskeyfield was tasered in a Burslem street on September 29 after being stopped by police on suspicion of driving while disqualified.
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Death: The University Hospital of North Staffordshire
But Mr Baskeyfield was admitted to hospital on October 4 and remained at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire until his death on Monday.
Now further medical tests are being carried out to see if there is a link between the Taser incident and Mr Baskeyfield's death.
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The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is investigating the circumstances surrounding Mr Baskeyfield's arrest after his relatives lodged an official complaint against Staffordshire Police.
An IPCC spokesman said: "The IPCC is investigating the arrest of Martin Baskeyfield. During the arrest in Cotterill Grove, Burslem, he was tasered and taken to the Northern area custody facility, in Etruria.
"He was admitted to hospital on October 4 and on October 9, Staffordshire Police received a complaint from a relative of Mr Baskeyfield about the police use of force during the arrest and the force referred the incident to the IPCC.
"The IPCC determined that an independent investigation should commence into the incident. That investigation continues into the full circumstances of the arrest.
"Sadly, Mr Baskeyfield passed away in hospital on January 14.
"A Home Office post-mortem examination is being conducted to determine the cause of death and the coroner has been informed."
Mr Baskeyfield, of Scotia Road, Tunstall, was charged with dangerous driving, disqualified driving, driving with no insurance, failing to stop for police and possessing cannabis following his arrest. The charges were withdrawn at North Staffordshire Justice Centre on Tuesday.
An initial post-mortem examination was carried out on Wednesday and an inquest is expected to be opened later this month.
Mr Baskeyfield's relatives today declined to comment on the investigation.
A Staffordshire Police spokesman added: ""Following police contact with Mr Baskeyfield on September 29 in Stoke-on-Trent, we received a complaint from a member of his family.
"As a result we referred the matter to the Independent Police Complaints Commission and are fully co-operating with their independent investigation."
Comments
by daisystoke
Wednesday, January 23 2013, 4:29PM
“nicofive YOU ARE SICK!!! understand where u comin from but why would u write comments like 'pushin daisys up' for all martins family to see on here!!! R.I.P martin u will be truely missed love ya millions xxxx”
by Nicofive5
Tuesday, January 22 2013, 4:17PM
“I agree with mole10 and anonfromstoke..........over the top police...they shouldnt taser people with heart conditions. The police should be made to hand out a medical questionaire to people prior to any interactions..........derr.....what planet are you people from.........you break the law and kick up a fuss......you get to ride the lightening. As for Killumanti...if Marty took such responsible actions on the day as to pull over and such, how comes he's pushing up daisys now...oh yeah thats right another case of someone elses fault. It makes me sick the police are held to ransome all of the time. I moved from Stoke because of the ridiculous attitudes and mentalities, glad to see nothings changed. I hope that the officers involved were uninjured and found not to be at fault.”
by caldoncut
Monday, January 21 2013, 12:39PM
“Remember that poor chap up north. Blind, walking with a stick got tasered because he was mistaken for a thug with a samurai sword. He didn't stop when asked by a trained police officer though he might not heard him or seen him or even think they were speaking to him. So he tried to get out of the way.”
by mowcopman
Monday, January 21 2013, 12:06PM
“I can only assume he was being a nuisance which is why he got tasered. Always unfortunate when someone dies but equally well if you must drive around whilst banned then really you are in the wrong. Law abiding, insurance paying, non drug using people need not be afraid.”
by mole10
Monday, January 21 2013, 11:48AM
“Tasers should not be used by the police, in any circumstances, on people with heart problems.”
by jokerjohnny
Sunday, January 20 2013, 11:45PM
“"its thatcher and camerons fault end of.bring back blair and brown more jobs and less immagration ."”
by jokerjohnny
Sunday, January 20 2013, 9:20PM
“why does this comic ban people from telling the truth?”
by caldoncut
Sunday, January 20 2013, 8:44PM
“The fact is not the four months but the four days when he was admitted to hospital. Many people die from injuries months after. Just Google for soldiers injured in war. The fact is a 50,000 V shock plus any injury he might have sustained if he fell could be contributory. The only reservation I have is that the police , the IPCC and the home office pathologists are all public servants for the same boss. We have had a lot of conspiracies recently Hillsborough, Cyril Smith Jimmy Saville let hope we are over them”
by woolgarde
Sunday, January 20 2013, 5:49PM
“I agree with hanpaul Mr Baskeyfield died FOUR MONTHS after being tasered.”
by Killuminati
Sunday, January 20 2013, 2:38PM
“I completely understand the fact that mart wasnt driving legally and am in the know as to what he did and didnt get up to in his youth,my point is that when he pulled over he immediately held his keys out of his drivers window to evade any "over the top" reactions by the officers. Condolences to kev,sunny,deb and joey. R I P BASKY”