New York Man Dies of Cardiac Arrest after being Tased Twice by NYPD; Mother Says ”He Died For No Reason”

A 29-year-old mentally ill man died from cardiac arrest after police used a taser on him twice.

Around 9:30 PM on Sunday, the New York Police Department dispatched officers to the home of George Zapantis, located in Whitestone on 150th Street near 20th Road, after a neighbor reported he was armed with a gun.

Upon arrival, Zapantis, who suffers from Bipolar disorder, was in his basement wearing a helmet and dressed as a Gladiator. However, he was wielding a samurai sword, not a gun, as the neighbor reported.

According to the Daily News, Zapantis refused to comply with the responding NYPD officers’ orders and attempted to charge them and was tasered first inside the home. Video footage captured by a neighbor shows the victim scuffling with four officers in the apartment doorway, one officer can be heard shouting “Get down! You’re going to get tasered again if you don’t get down.”

A second cop is then heard saying, “Hit him again!” and that is when Zapantis was tasered for the second time.

The victim was taken into custody but went into cardiac arrest while in the ambulance. He was pronounced dead at New York-Presbyterian Queens hospital.

His mother, Athanasia Zapantis, is devastated by the incident and told the Daily News on Tuesday, “I’m crying because I was not here for my son in his last moments, and he died in such a horrible way. He was my left hand, my son. He was everything … He died for no reason.” She alleges the neighbor constantly harassed her son daily, and the day of the incident, was outside clapping as police tasered her son. “If I see him, I’m going to spit in his face,” she said.

According to upstairs neighbors, Ricky Nobel, 42, and his 16-year-old daughter Shakira Zapantis, the man was not threatening anyone with the sword, but things escalated quickly when the cops arrived. They described the victim as a church-going man that took care of his 33-year old sister with Down Syndrome.

“There were moments where George did say that he couldn’t breathe to (police) when they were pulling on his shirt,” said Shakira. “And the officers said ‘Don’t play that card, no one’s choking you. ‘”

“I told the officers he’s got mental health (issues), he takes medicine,” recalled Ricky Noble. “I was yelling at the officers that he was (mentally ill), and they were still tasing him. Just handcuff him and walk him out.” Nobel blames the death on the neighbor who falsely reported Zapantis had a gun.

The video shows Zapantis was unarmed when police took him into custody. The NYPD’s Force Investigation Division has launched an investigation into the incident. However, based on the findings during the preliminary portion, a police source said the use of force appears to be within the department’s guidelines.

Zapantis’ family is waiting on the results from an independent autopsy to confirm Zapantis’ cause of death. His mother says she’s upset that a social worker was not called to the scene to help defuse the situation that turned tragic.

“If my son was wrong ….” she said. “I don’t think he was wrong at all. He had so good a heart. He was kind to everybody.”

Athanasia Zapantis has plans to move out of the neighborhood due to the memories that are too painful for her to stay.

“He was supposed to go to work tomorrow,” said the heartbroken mom. “I have to call them and tell them, you know, he’s not going back.”