Employees from a business reported that Martinez had been “acting very violently and destroying property” at their business. Officers were able to calm Martinez, who was sweating profusely and appeared to be having mini-seizures as police interacted with him. Officers believed Martinez was experiencing medical problems and called the Johnson County Ambulance Service. Officers used a Taser twice to subdue Martinez. Martinez stopped breathing as he was being loaded on the stretcher for the hospital.
Victim's Name: Thomas Martinez Jr.
Agency Responsible: Coralville Police Department
Gender: Male
Age: 40
Race: Hispanic
Date of Death: July 22, 2013
County: Johnson
Cause of Death: Taser
Official Disposition: Pending investigation/No Known Charges
Criminal Charges: No known charges
Mental Illness: No
Armed: Unarmed/Did Not Have an Actual Weapon
Weapon: unarmed
Geography: Suburban