A man who died after being arrested during NRL grand final celebrations in Sydney had been handcuffed when he was twice hit with a Taser stun gun by police, a witness says.
Police went to the St George Leagues Club at Kogarah, in Sydney's southeast, about 12.20am (02.20am NZT) on
Monday after reports of a fight between three men during celebrations for the Dragons' grand final win.
In a statement on Monday police said capsicum spray had been used to subdue a 35-year-old man, who lost consciousness and was taken to hospital, where he later died.
A witness told the Nine Network that police also used a Taser on the man.
"They capsicum sprayed him. From capsicum spraying him, they handcuffed him," said the woman named Kristy.
"They pinned him down to the ground. And then they tasered him. And then from tasering him, they tasered him again."
On ABC Radio the same woman said police had attempted to "restart his heart".
"He had stopped breathing," she said.
Police said the cause of the man's death is not yet known.
However, a Taser was used to subdue another man who was then arrested. A third man was also arrested at the scene and both of them were taken to St George police station.
St George Leagues Club management did not comment on the incident on Monday morning but a staff member said it had otherwise been a trouble-free night.
"Absolutely. It was just that one incident," a staff member told AAP.
Police have set up a critical incident team to investigate the incident.
A police spokeswoman would not comment when asked if officers had attempted to revive a man at the scene.
"We can't comment any further because it is a critical incident," she said.
She also refused to comment on whether the man who died had been tasered while in handcuffs.
"We're not commenting on this issue," she said.
"We have put the facts in a media release, and they are the facts as we are stating them."
- AAP
