Sheriff says suspect with a knife died after being shot with a taser

A man who was allegedly threatening his wife with a knife died after he was tasered and taken into custody, according to St. Joseph County Police.

Police responded to a home in the 10200 block of Conover Drive for a call about a man chasing his wife with a knife, reports said.

When officers arrived on scene they confronted the man in the garage. He was lying on the floor of the garage with the knife in his hand, but refused to drop the knife, police said.

At 1:36 p.m., an officer used a taser on the man and placed him in handcuffs.

The man then began having difficulty breathing.

Officers requested medics and began performing CPR on the man, reports said.

Medics arrived and began life saving efforts, but he was later pronounced dead.

The St. Joseph County Metro Homicide Unit has been called in to investigate.

The officer involved has been placed on administrative leave.

Sheriff Bill Redman said he and St. Joseph County Police send their condolences to the family.

“This is the not the way we want any call to end,” Redman said. “This is particularly saddening situation because we have been told the individual had recently been unstable and acting strangely because he had not been taking his medications.”