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A Broward County man died shortly after Miami police used a stun gun on him, the first such death for the department since it began using the weapons, officials confirmed Friday.

Jon Merkle, 40, of Hallandale Beach, died on Sept. 20 after Officer Alfredo Matias used a Taser to subdue him. Miami police spokesman Delrish Moss said the medical examiner told investigators Merkle had significant levels of cocaine in his system. The ME's report is expected to be released early next week.

Police say they are sure the Taser was not to blame.

''Based on all the information we have, we are very confident that the Taser was not the cause,'' said Sgt. Richard Gentry, who reviewed the case because he trains officers to use the Tasers. ``It was other medical factors.''

Merkle's family could not be reached for comment Friday.

DRUG USER

Merkle, an attorney, had a history of cocaine use and had been arrested four times since 1999 on charges of drug possession. He was suspended from practicing law shortly after his 1999 arrest on cocaine possession charges, Florida Bar officials said. Earlier this year, police in Hollywood arrested him after he led them on a short car chase that forced children crossing a street to run for safety.

Merkle pleaded no contest to possession of cocaine and drug paraphernalia and fleeing police in that case and served several months in the Broward County Jail before being released at the end of July.

On Sept. 20, officers Matias and Michelle Johnakin were called to the area of Northwest 13th Avenue and 68th Street because of reports a man was running through backyards and acting erraticly. They found Merkle in an abandoned house.

''They go into the abandoned house where he is because they can hear him inside. They can hear things smashing and so forth,'' Moss said.

The officers found Merkle swinging a large stick around, bashing parts of the house and himself with it, Moss said. He already had smashed the windows of a neighboring house.

`STARTED SWINGING'

Matias was able to calm Merkle down and get him to relinquish the stick, Moss said. But when Johnakin went to handcuff him, Merkle ''started swinging at her,'' Moss said. ``That's when he was hit with the Taser.''

Moss said the two officers quickly called rescue because they noticed that Merkle seemed feverish and excited. They also struggled to keep him sitting upright. Merkle wanted to lie on his stomach.

''Three or four times, they had to sit him upright,'' Moss said. ``Then he lies down again and this time he starts to turn blue.''

Johnakin rushed back to her car to retrieve CPR equipment but rescue workers arrived as she was returning to the house. Merkle was taken to Cedars Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

The incident is the first Taser-related death for Miami police, who have been using the stun guns for more than a year. South Florida law enforcement agencies have investigated several other cases of people who died after being shocked with a Taser but none was conclusively linked to the stun gun.

The gun's manufacturer, Taser International, says the device is safe, although it has been criticized as unnecessarily brutal and not properly studied.

Company spokesman Steve Tuttle pointed to studies done by the U.S. Air Force, the Victoria, Canada, police department and police authorities in the United Kingdom recommending Tasers as a safe option for police. All three studies, however, recommended further research to determine when the Tasers might be dangerous to use.

The Arizona Republic reviewed autopsy reports in 71 deaths following Taser use in the United States and Canada since 1999. It found that medical examiners blamed the Tasers for two of the deaths and that the devices contributed to four others.

Tuttle and police officials insist Tasers save lives by giving officers something less dangerous than a gun to use on violent subjects.

''A few seconds of current is painful, but it's something you recover from,'' Moss said. ``Bullets are not.''

SAFER FOR POLICE

Tuttle also said Tasers have reduced officer injuries in many departments by giving them a way to subdue suspects without having to tackle them.

'Cops are not paid to get hurt. This has been an overwhelmingly successful tool because it's saving lives and reducing injuries, which causes a snowball effect with a drop in workers' compensation claims, in officer-involved shootings and litigation,'' Tuttle said.

Although there is a lack of research on how Tasers affect people with heart conditions or people under the influence of drugs, former Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner Joe Davis said they're basically safe by design because of the kind of electricity they use.

''The Taser operates on a very high voltage but a very low amperage, so there's very little real electrical energy that's coming into the body,'' Davis said.

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