PASADENA : Mourners Seek Inquiry Into Barber’s Death

Mourners on Monday called for an investigation into the death last week of a Pasadena barber whom Los Angeles police shot with a Taser gun.

Michael James Bryant was a man “who always had a kind word to say,” said Kelly Dillon, a friend of Bryant’s family, in a eulogy during funeral services at St. Andrew’s Catholic Church in Pasadena. “What happened to him is truly unfair, and I ask the Lord that justice be done,” Dillon added.

Bryant allegedly led police from San Marino, Pasadena and Los Angeles on a long car chase March 9, ending up behind a Highland Park apartment building, where Bryant fell into a swimming pool. Police shot him with a Taser, then hogtied him and placed him in the back of a car, where he died. An autopsy last week failed to determine the cause of death.

Members of the family have said they may sue the arresting officers. Bryant is survived by a wife and two children.