At least three people died in the Florida in the month of December after being struck with Taser stun guns by law enforcement officials. The latest incident occurred on December 28 when a teenager died after he was zapped with a Taser gun and doused with a substance similar to pepper spray during a fight with Collier County sheriff’s deputies. Nineteen-year-old Christopher Hernandez died several hours after officials say he attacked deputies, kicking and ripping their uniforms. Taser stun guns zap suspects with 50,000 volts of electricity, incapacitating them. Arizona-based Taser International says its weapons are safe to use to subdue violent individuals, and are a nonlethal alternative to shooting a suspect.

Hernandez’s relatives say he was badly beaten by the law enforcement officials and when they saw him at the emergency room his head was swollen, his eyes were “blood red” and his arms and face had road rash.