On August 2, 2007, 44-year-old Clyde Patrick died after an encounter with officers from the Birmingham and University of Alabama at Birmingham police departments outside the UAB Hospital emergency room. Patrick, described as weighing over 300 pounds and reported to have been off his medication for diabetes, hypertension, and anxiety, was seen by a witness as appearing mentally disturbed and in need of help rather than intent on harm.

During an interaction that escalated, multiple officers deployed their Tasers against Patrick a total of eighteen times over less than eleven minutes. He went into medical distress and later died; the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office ruled the death a homicide, citing a probable arrhythmia related to a pre-existing heart condition with Taser use as a contributing factor.

The administrator of Patrick’s estate, Earl Patrick, filed a civil rights lawsuit alleging excessive force and deliberate indifference by the City of Birmingham and its police chiefs. Internal inquiries by the Birmingham Police Department and the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office were conducted, and information about disciplinary actions or the lawsuit’s final outcome is not provided.

If anyone was at UAB Hospital that afternoon or has relevant information about the encounter, please share what is known.