Anthony Caristo inquest: ACT police cleared over tasering death

An inquest has cleared Canberra police over any wrongdoing after a man died when he was tasered by officers.

Anthony Caristo, 54, pictured with his mother. He died in 2017 after being tasered by an ACT police officer. Picture: Supplied.

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Canberra police have been cleared of significant wrongdoing in tasering death of 54-year-old Anthony Caristo.

Caristo died at his Waramanga home in October 2017, when he was tasered in the chest by ACT police Acting Sergeant Nathan Macklin.

Caristo then suffered a massive heart attack and could not be revived.

Police had been called to Caristo’s home by a concerned neighbour, who saw him smeared in blood and brandishing a knife.

Sgt Macklin told an inquest hearing last year Caristo was “frothing at the mouth”, covered in blood and had chopped his pinky finger off when he arrived.

In a summary of inquest findings, released on Friday, Coroner James Stewart said there was “nothing negligent or blameworthy in the conduct of the police in using the taser … that could be said to have contributed to his death”.

Mr Stewart’s full findings have not been made public.

An autopsy revealed Caristo had a “very high and potentially lethal” dose of methamphetamine in his system.

Anthony Caristo was Tasered by police in an effort to prevent him from inflicting further self harm

Acting Sergeant Nathan Macklin leaves the inquest last year.

Mr Stewart said it was not possible to find that the taser caused Caristo’s death on its own, and said the use of the taser was justified under the AFP’s standing orders on the use of weapons.

Mr Stewart found Caristo “did strike himself with the knife” just before Sergeant Macklin fired the taser, and that the officer was trying to stop Caristo from hurting or killing himself.

A review found that by the time paramedics got to Caristo, he had about a 2 per cent chance of being resuscitated.

The only minor criticism Mr Stewart made was that it was unsafe for two constables to enter Caristo’s living room “under the cover of taser”, and he recommended the AFP review the training officers are given about the possible dangers of tapering pregnant women, children, drunk, drug-effected, psychotic, or mentally ill people.

Mr Stewart said: “Many people fall prey to illicit drug use, and it is the experience of this court that psychological ill-health often goes hand-in-hand with a vulnerability to illicit drug use”.