Suspect dies after struggle with Redwood City police

A Redwood City police officer deployed a Taser multiple times on a suspect who died after a struggle with officers on Monday, according to San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.

Wagstaffe’s office is leading the investigation into the death of Ramsey Saad, 55, who had allegedly assaulted and threatened to kill his 83-year-old mother.

Police were called at about 7:20 p.m. and found Saad outside the home in the 500 block of Lanyard Drive. Neighbors were trying to restrain him, police said.

The first officer who arrived tried to attend to Saad’s mother, but Saad attacked the officer, according to police. Other officers arrived and tried to stop Saad.

During the struggle, Officer Oscar Poveda deployed a Taser on Saad “two or three times,” Wagstaffe said. Eventually, Saad fell unconscious. He was taken to a hospital, where he died.

Poveda and three other officers were placed on leave after the incident. The other officers are Matthew Cydzik, Brian Simmons and Daniel Di Bona.

Wagstaffe said the investigation is ongoing and it’s not clear what role the Taser played in Saad’s death, if any. He said an autopsy is complete but it will be weeks longer before a coroner’s report is completed specifying his official cause of death.