By Cade Fowler - bio | email
ALBANY, GA (WALB) - It still isn't clear what connection 38-year-old Rickey Massey had to the Bay County/Panama City, Florida area, but that is where his life came to an end Friday.
The 230 pound former football standout, who later went on to rack up a lengthy criminal record, died shortly after police stunned him with a taser.
According to an official with the Panama City Police Department, officers pulled over a car occupied by Massey and three others around 2:30 Friday afternoon. Authorities from the Bay County Sheriff's Office and PCPD were conducting a drug operation when officers noticed Massey consuming what appeared to be drugs.
Police say Massey resisted when they tried to intervene, prompting one of the officers to use his taser. Soon after he was tased, Massey began having medical problems and was taken to a local hospital where he later died.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the incident as the medical examiner's officers works to determine an exact cause of death. An autopsy was conducted over the weekend, but officials are awaiting toxicology and other tests to determine if Massey died as result of being tased, ingesting drugs, or some other underlying cause.
Police have named the four officers involved in the incident but did not release who applied the taser. This is yet another case that brings up the debate over tasers or stun guns which are widely used by law enforcement to administer what's been regarded as non-lethal force.
Three others in connection with the case have been arrested including 25-year-old Jarrell Daniels of Albany who was booked on drug charges.
According to the Georgia Department of Corrections, Massey had served prison time on at least three drug convictions out of Dougherty County in recent years.
©2009 WALB News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Feedback
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2013 Worldnow and WALB, a Raycom Media Station. 
