A bipolar man in Canada who'd previously had amiable relationships with police officers died after a later encounter went wrong. From the Chronicle Herald:

"We were dispatched to provide assistance to a person who appeared to be mentally disturbed," testified [officer] Clement.

Three officers were present and they went inside the garage. To Clement’s surprise, it was the man he’d met outside the coffee shop.

But Clement said he quickly realized something was very wrong because of the way he was talking.

"He gave me directions for where to walk and where to step because I was entering a voodoo garden," said the constable.

"It was obvious to me Kevin had lost contact with reality."

While two officers stayed with Geldart, Clement went inside the home and spoke to the parents, who told him their son has suffered from bipolar disorder since he was 18 and was having a psychotic episode.

Clement testified the parents said he had to be dealt with because he was "losing it."

Things went from bad to worse after Geldart got to the ER and became violent. Three days later, in another violent encounter, the officers shocked Geldart with 50,000 volts to subdue him, but the shocks killed him. At an inquest, his sister passed around photos of Geldart, and shared stories. From the Chronicle Herald:

She talked about the fact her brother loved Monty Python and the Rolling Stones, and how he played with Lego as a youngster and got good grades in school.

But when he got to junior high, she said he began to miss classes and smoke marijuana. He didn’t apply himself in high school and developed depression and insomnia.

He was diagnosed at the age of 18 with the mental illness and would later be placed on permanent disability.

And therein begins and ends, in a sense, a sad tale. In this instance, however, I think the officers sounded very sympathetic and reluctant to use force.

Inquest begins into Taser death