An investigation launched over two and a half years ago into the death of Huddersfield man Adrian McDonald is in its ‘final stages’.

Mr McDonald, 34, of Dalton, died on December 22 2014 after he was Tasered by officers called to a house in Staffordshire following reports of a burglary.

Staffordshire Police referred the incident to The Independent Police Complaints Commission IPCC, following standard practice in such cases, and commission experts have been carrying out an investigation since then.

Mr Mc Donald was brought up in Dalton, Huddersfield, where his family still live, and had been living in Stoke for about a year.

He was attending a birthday party at the time of the incident, where he became very distressed.

The police were called by neighbours.

Armed police arrived at the scene and tasered Mr McDonald. He became ill in a police van and died.

Taser stun gun
Taser stun gun

Since Mr McDonald’s death the IPPC has been gathering evidence including accounts from officers and witnesses, and viewed footage from officers’ body worn video cameras. Tests have been conducted on the Taser discharged in the incident.

An inquest was opened and adjourned at Stoke-on-Trent Coroner’s Court in April last year.

The IPCC has met with Mr McDonald’s family to explain progress in the investigation and are keeping HM Coroner and Staffordshire Police informed.

An IPCC spokesman said: “We are finalising our investigation report and are providing regular updates to all parties including the family and HM Coroner.’

In a separate case last year a landmark verdict caused fresh questions to be raised over police use of Tasers.

An inquest jury found police use of a 50,000-volt stun gun contributed to the death of Jordon Begley in Manchester in 2013.