Black man hospitalized after police shocked and punched him during arrest in Alabama dies

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A Black man hospitalized for a week following an arrest in which Alabama police shocked him with a Taser and punched him died Tuesday, law enforcement said.

It is not yet clear what caused John Scott Jr., 41, to die, or whether his arrest is related.

The uncertainty has reignited anger in Decatur, a northern Alabama city divided by the ongoing trial of a white officer charged with murder for fatally shooting a different Black man in 2023. A police statement did not specify the names or races of the officers involved in Scott’s arrest.

“Here we go again. We stated that this was going to happen again, based on what happened when Steve Perkins died. They shifted the police chief, but they got the same players still playing the game” said Rodney Gordon, president of the local NAACP chapter, referring to the recent re...
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