through the window. then tasing him. police say the deputy attempted a carotid hold. ward became unresponsive. we need medical. ward was the victim and not the carjacker. he was transported to a local hospital and pronounced dead. a lawyer from blount defended his action. frankly mr. ward caused his own death by taking a number of bizarre actions. there were no indications of trauma to his neck. after shocking footage leaves the community demanding answers. an investigation is currently
putting the victim of a carjacking who the officer thought it was a suspect into a choke hold. he later died in the hospital. the video you are about to see is disturbing. sarah har mmon has the latest. reporter: it began with a report of a stolen car. deputy in pursuit of the vehicle reported missing in a carjacking. what they did not know the driver, 52 years old, david glen ward, was the car owner. the deputy can be seen approaching the vehicle, get out of the car. the driver who was physically disabled struggled to exit the car. law enforcement dragging him
show me your [ muted ] hands! turn off the [ muted ] car! reporter: what they didn t know, the drive, 52-year-old david glen ward, was the car s owner. get your hands up! reporter: in a video of the stunning confrontation released by the sonoma county sheriff s department, deputy charles blough can be seen approaching the vehicle. get out of the car! all right, i m getting out. i m getting out. reporter: the driver, who was physically disabled, struggled to exit the car. law enforcement dragging him through the window. ah! then tasing him. police say deputy blough attempted a carotid hold, a controversial move designed to cut off blood to the brain. ward became unresponsive. we need medical, ma am. get medical. reporter: as it became clear ward was the victim, not the carjacker. he was transported to a local hospital and pronounced dead.
sheriff mark essex says he plans to fire deputy blough, a 19-year veteran of the force. a lawyer for blough defending his actions, telling nbc in a statement deputy blount didn t cause david ward s death. frankly, mr. ward caused his own death by inexplicably taking a number of bizarre actions. alleging he had a serious pre-existing condition and methamphetamine in his system and there were no indications of trauma to his neck. aftershocking footage leaves a community demanding answers. an investigation is currently under way. officer blount is on administrative leave at the moment. his attorney tells nbc news he has not been fired, and if and when that happens, he plans to appeal the decision. phillip? nbc s sarah harman. thank you. new alarm out of north korea. official satellite photos appear to show kim jong-un is not willing to denuclearize before diplomatic talks with the united states. joining me now is nbc s molly
inaccurate and that this hold had been announced before and it was all part of an interagency process. well, if that was the case, then why did michael duffey send another email on september 11th saying i m glad this issue is behind us ? when i read that, that indicated to me that he was aware at the time of how unusual all this was. david, congress didn t raise this, but your organization s reporting did suggest that the mere withholding of the aid may have been illegal. how so? yeah, well, there s something, an act, a 45-year-old law that s on the books that basically says, all right, if congress goes ahead and appropriates money, the executive branch, once it signs that law in whatever form it is, has to go ahead and spend that money. so, if you re withholding money that congress has said needs to be spent or is appropriated for a certain purpose and then the executive branch isn t doing it, well, that s a big problem, potentially, and it really kind of strikes at the heart of