Suspect continued to fight after being hit with Taser, police say

A 39-year-old Kailua-Kona man died in Hawaii County police custody Tuesday after he was hit with a Taser.

Police said they used the electronic weapon in an attempt to subdue Randall Hatori.

Hatori was a passenger in a car when an officer made a traffic stop at a gas station in a shopping center on Palani Road at 12:30 a.m. Tuesday.

The driver, Ernest Ricky Alvarez of Kailua-Kona, was arrested on a $10,000 bench warrant for contempt of court.

Hatori, who was wanted on suspicion of assault and violation of temporary restraining orders, fled on foot, police said.

In a news release Wednesday, police said an "officer pursued Hatori on foot, and a struggle ensued while trying to apprehend him."

The officer was unable to restrain him, so he fired the Taser, police said. Police said Hatori continued to actively resist arrest.

Other officers then arrived and assisted in restraining Hatori, police said.

He was placed in handcuffs and became unresponsive, police said.

An autopsy was conducted Wednesday, but the medical examiner has deferred the cause of death pending toxicology and histology results.