Police in Hickory say a man died after officers used a Taser on him during a struggle Monday.
The Hickory Police Department said officers were investigating reports of a man with methamphetamine and a gun at the Red Roof Inn on Lenoir Rhyne Boulevard around 10:30 a.m. and found a vehicle in which a rifle was visible between the seats.
As they approached Matthew Saunders, 41, while he was standing next to the vehicle, the department says Saunders hit one of the officers and fled.
Saunders became unresponsive after one of the officers used the Taser, and died at the scene after the officers tried administering CPR and then called Catawba County EMS. The department said it later determined that Saunders was wanted by the U.S. Marshals Service as a federal probation absconder.
The two officers involved in the incident have been placed on administrative duty, which is standard procedure. The department has asked the State Bureau of Investigation to review the incident.
