Baron Pikes Tribute

In January, Louisiana state police arrested Baron Pikes, 21, on cocaine charges in Winnfield, LA. After Pikes was handcuffed, officer Scott Nugent tased the young man nine times with a 50,000-volt Taser (as tracked by a computer chip monitoring shocks delivered by the weapon) and according to a coroner's report he stopped twitching after seven. Shortly after withstanding this barrage of tasings, Baron Pikes was pronounced dead.

Having ruled the incident a homicide after intensive study, medical examiners on the case report that Pikes may have been dead even before the final two shocks were delivered. Winn Parish District Attorney Christopher Nevils said he will decide on any charges against the ex-officer, Scott Nugent, once a Louisiana State Police report on the case is complete.

The officer's lawyer, said his client followed proper procedure to subdue a man who outweighed him by 100 pounds, though Pikes was already handcuffed and on the ground when first hit with the Taser. The officer claims the 247-pound suspect was slow to follow police orders to get up.