In what seems to be an all too common occurrence across the U.S., an inmate has died in California after being shocked with a taser by sheriff’s deputies. Jason Jesus Gomez is the latest casualty at the hands of the infamous Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

The Los Angeles Times:

An Orange County jail inmate who spent a week in a coma after a violent confrontation with sheriff’s deputies has died, a deputy coroner said today.

Sheriff’s deputies used Taser stun weapons to subdue Jason Jesus Gomez in his cell at the Intake Release Center in Santa Ana. Gomez, 35, who was in jail for a probation violation, stopped breathing after the confrontation and was resuscitated by paramedics.

He spent a week in a coma at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana. A deputy coroner who would not identify himself said today that Gomez had died. He would not say whether Gomez died last night or today and referred calls to the district attorney’s office, which is investigating the incident.

The Orange County district attorney’s office has opened an investigation into the violent struggle between sheriff’s deputies and Gomez, who had a lengthy criminal record. The action is the latest setback to the Sheriff’s Department as it struggles to recover from a series of allegations involving the treatment of inmates.

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