Siler City man dies during arrest

Law officers had used a Taser to subdue a man who led them on a 40-mile chase

A Siler City man died early Sunday after being arrested and subdued by officers at the end of a 40-mile chase through Chatham and Randolph counties, according to the Chatham County Sheriff's Office.

Shannon Johnson, 37, of 939 Edwards Hill Church Road in Siler City developed breathing difficulties and lost consciousness shortly after being shocked with a Taser gun used by officers trying to subdue him, the department said. Emergency medical personnel administered CPR, but Johnson was pronounced dead at Randolph County Hospital.

No other injuries were reported.

Maj. Gary Blankenship of the Chatham County Sheriff's Office said the State Bureau of Investigation will investigate the death. An autopsy will also be done, Blankenship said.

It was the department's first in-custody death since at least 2002, when Sheriff Richard Webster took over the department, Blankenship said.

The sheriff's office has been using Tasers for about two years, Blankenship said. Most of the department's patrol officers are armed with them, but they must be trained on their use and have one used on them before using them, Blankenship said.

"We probably have used [Tasers] 30 times in two years," Blankenship said. "It's been very effective with little or no injury to the person."

At 5:08 a.m. Sunday, law enforcement received a call that someone was acting erratically near the Pittsboro courthouse traffic circle at U.S. 64 Business and U.S. 15-501.

When Pittsboro police and Chatham County sheriff's deputies arrived, the man later identified as Johnson jumped into a black Ford F-350 pickup truck and drove toward Siler City on U.S. 64, sometimes topping 90 mph, said Trooper W.J. Davis of the State Highway Patrol, who is investigating the accident.

Siler City police, Randolph County sheriff's deputies and other law enforcement agencies joined the chase.

At one point, deputies put spike strips on the road to try to flatten the truck's tires and force it to stop, but they didn't work.

Just one of Johnson's six tires went flat on the extra-wide truck with two wheels on each rear side, said Davis.

Johnson drove about 18 miles on the rim of the front left wheel before finally losing control of the truck west of Asheboro and crashing into an embankment, Davis said.

But Johnson remained unruly, Blankenship said. After he wrecked the truck, Johnson kicked out his driver's side window and exited his vehicle through the window, Blankenship said.

At some point, deputies decided to use a Taser to shock him.

"They were trying to get him where he wasn't flailing or hurting anybody," Blankenship said.

After a struggle, officers handcuffed Johnson until medical personnel arrived.

A little while later, Johnson started to have trouble breathing and lost consciousness, Blankenship said.

Emergency medical personnel administered CPR, but Johnson was pronounced dead at the hospital at 6:30 a.m.

Sheriff's deputies found a plastic bag with some kind of unknown residue in Johnson's pocket, Blankenship said.

Four Chatham County sheriff's deputies were involved in the incident and were already scheduled to be off work for four days, Blankenship said. By the time they return, the office should have an idea if any disciplinary actions will be needed, he said.