Coroner opens inquest into Taser death of Anthony Caristo
A Coroner will probe the death of a Canberra man Tasered by officers.
Police said Anthony Caristo had a severed finger, was covered in blood, and holding a knife when he confronted officers at his Waramanga home in October last year.
He struck his leg with the knife and - to prevent him harming himself further - officers Tasered him, police said.
Mr Caristo then fell unconscious and could not be revived.
He was the first Taser-related death in the ACT and it is being formally examined in a coronial inquest.
Coroner Peter Morrison formally opened the inquest via a brief directions hearing in the ACT Coronial Court on Friday.
The court heard much of the brief had been served on the parties.
Counsel assisting, Ken Archer, said he expected the hearing to take five days.
Mr Archer said witnesses should be available if a hearing were scheduled in late-May.
Mr Morrison declined to set a date for hearing until he could receive further information and listed the matter for further directions in February.
After his death, Mr Caristo was remembered as a kind man with a "heart of gold".
His daughter, Carley, described her father as a "smart man with a big heart".
Mr Carito's family, in January, slammed police, accusing former police chief, Justine Saunders, of "insensitivity" and accusing officers of keeping them in the dark about what happened inside the Waramanga home on that October afternoon.
Mr Caristo's family, in an email to Ms Saunders, called for an independent investigator to take over the case.
Most Viewed in National
Please explain
Our weekly podcast giving you insight into the stories that drive the nation.
Listen now