The police lieutenant who gave the order to fire a Taser at a disturbed Brooklyn man, causing him to tumble to his death from a 10-foot ledge, isn’t trying to second-guess himself, and says he was just trying to look out for the safety of his own officer, sources told The Post.
Lt. Michael Pigott is a 21-year-veteran and “solid guy,” who “admitted he gave the order,” one source said yesterday.
Another source familiar with Emergency Services Unit protocol, but who didn’t see the fatal incident, said Pigott was looking out for his men since an officer – standing on a fire escape above the deranged Inman Morales – was being threatened by the naked man, who was holding a long fluorescent light tube.
“He wasn’t tied in [securely],” that source said of the officer, adding that Morales was “poking at him,” which could have caused the officer to fall.
After he was hit with the Taser, Morales, 35, fell head-first to the ground and died shortly afterward at Kings County Hospital.
Police Officer Nicholas Marchesona, who fired the lethal discharge, didn’t answer the door at his Staten Island home yesterday.
Pigott last week had his badge and gun taken and was placed on modified duty. Marchesona was ordered on desk duty.
Additional reporting by Jamie Schram and Reuven Fenton