DA clears Oklahoma officer in Taser shooting, fire death

DA clears Oklahoma officer in Taser shooting, fire death
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) – An Oklahoma police officer has been cleared in the death of a man who burst into flames and died after being shot by a Taser as he was getting into his gasoline-soaked van.
District Attorney Greg Mashburn released a letter Friday stating that Lindsay Police Officer Brian Guthrie was “justified and appropriate” to deploy the Taser at 52-year-old Dana Dean Carrothers. Carrothers died Nov. 7 after catching fire when he was shot with the Taser as he re-entered his van near Lindsay, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) south of Oklahoma City.
Mashburn wrote that Carrothers did not respond to officers’ commands and was attempting to re-enter his vehicle when Guthrie deployed his Taser. He says Carrothers’ torso almost immediately burst into flames.
Carrothers’ brother, Jeffrey, declined to comment on Mashburn’s decision.