Man dies after being tased during struggle outside halfway house

CLEVELAND — Authorities in central Ohio are investigating the death of a 29-year-old man who was tased twice by police in a struggle outside a halfway house where he had been staying.

An autopsy is being performed Wednesday on Terrance Moxley, who died at an area hospital after being tased on Tuesday by police in Mansfield, Ohio, the Summit County coroner’s office said.

Police were called Tuesday afternoon to the Volunteers of America halfway house on a report of a resident trying to punch people, Mansfield police said in a statement.

Moxley had been slamming a door over and over, damaging the steel frame and breaking a window with enough force for a clock and fire extinguisher to drop off the wall, police said.

Police said Moxley eventually calmed down enough to be handcuffed and evaluated, but he became agitated again and was tased twice after he tried to bite police officers. One officer also was tased in the struggle, police said.

Stephanie Aubill, a spokeswoman for Volunteers of America Greater Ohio, said on Wednesday that Moxley had been referred to the program in January from the Ohio corrections department.

Moxley pleaded guilty in September to felony drug trafficking and domestic violence charges, according to Richland County court records.

The officers on scene have been placed on administrative leave. Mansfield is about 65 miles southwest of Cleveland.