Bipolar Man Wearing A Gladiator Costume, Holding A Sword Gets Tased Multiple Time By Cops, Dies

A bipolar Queens man who died after he was tasered a half-dozen times by cops answered his door in full gladiator gear before punching his way through a screen door and charging at the officers, NYPD bodycam video released Tuesday.

“I’m gonna f--- you up, bro!” screamed George Zapantis, 29, as the arriving officers implored him to put down a samurai sword and come outside. “Motherf---er! I will f--- you up.”

The wild and fatal June 24 arrest was captured on four separate bodycams as cops arrived at the bizarre scene following a dispute between Zapantis and a neighbor. The officers repeatedly implored Zapantis to drop the weapon before the scene turned violent in a matter of seconds.

“I have a right to defend myself,” the unhinged Zapantis declared before the fight erupted.


One cop is heard reacting on camera after Zapantis answered his door in a helmet, with protective sleeves on both arms, a shield in one hand and a sword in the other: “Holy s---. Did that just happen?”


Minutes later, Zapantis started screaming and then came toward the officers assembled outside his alleyway door in Whitestone. It took several officers to place handcuffs on the suspect as Zapantis was tasered by another cop. The suspect suffered an apparent cardiac arrest in the ambulance after being tased and died at New York-Presbyterian Hospital Queens.

The NYPD is still investigating the incident, with follow-up interviews scheduled and additional video review before any decision on criminality is made in the case, said police spokesman Sgt. Carlos Nieves in a brief introduction before the two-plus hours of unedited video appear.

A neighbor called police in an apparent dispute over a porch light, reporting that Zapantis had brandished the sword at him.