South Florida doctor shocked with Taser by police after accident
MIAMI (WSVN) -- A Boca Raton doctor is in critical condition at the hospital, after he was involved in a car accident and shocked with a Taser gun by police.
According to detectives, Dr. Mark Holder was behind the wheel of his Cadillac sports car, when he lost control at 3:30 a.m. Friday. "The passenger of the vehicle tells us that the driver had some type of seizure of some sort, and that caused the individual not to drive any longer, so the passenger took control of the vehicle," said Teri Barbera of the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.
Wilhelmina Holder, the mother of the 30-year-old physician, said she has no idea why Palm Beach County deputies had to taser her son multiple times. "My son is an educated man. He's a gentleman. He's a kind fellow. He is an intelligent fellow," said the doctor's mother. "He had an accident, and, you know, you still don't have the right to tase anybody after an accident. Normally, tasing is for certain things, not after they had a head injury."
Police said after the car ended up on the other side of Military Trail, Dr. Holder began to fight back. "He was running out into the road, and they were concerned for his safety at that point. They actually were not able to gain control of him until he actually reached the southbound lanes of Military Trail," said Barbera.
According to deputies, it took seven of their own to take the 6-foot-2-inch doctor down and said that's when the taser became necessary.
Dr. Holder, a Liberian-born man and a graduate of the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, completed his residency at Jackson Memorial Hospital. The doctor's friends said this was out of character. "He is kind, gentle and very sincere, a nice human being," said Dr. Sasha Winderbaum, a friend of the victim.
Relatives of the victim said Dr. Holder had a similar seizure in his 20s. Relatives also said they won't know the entire story of what happened Friday until they are able to speak with Dr. Holder.
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