Updated, 10:05 a.m. | A New York City police lieutenant who gave the order to fire a Taser stun gun at a man who then fell to his death in Brooklyn committed suicide at Floyd Bennett Field early on Thursday, law enforcement officials said. The lieutenant, Michael W. Pigott, a 21-year veteran of the force, had been placed on modified assignment without his gun and badge after he gave the order to a sergeant to fire the Taser at a Bedford-Stuyvesant man, Iman Morales.

Mr. Morales, naked and with apparent signs of emotional disturbance, fell to his death from a building ledge after an officer shot him with the Taser, at the instruction of Lieutenant Pigott. Mr. Morales had been yelling at passers-by and swinging a long light bulb tube at officers before he fell.

Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said in a statement:

Upon behalf of all of the members of the New York City Police Department, I extend deepest condolences to the family and friends of Lt. Michael W. Pigott who served with dedication for 21 years.

In the aftermath of Mr. Morales’s death, the department announced that the use of the Taser appeared to have violated departmental rules, and a new commander of the Emergency Service Unit was named. Mr. Kelly also emphasized the need for additional training.

Asked about the development on Thursday morning, the chief spokesman for the police department, Paul J. Browne, said only: “A New York City police lieutenant was killed this morning apparently as the result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The identification is being withheld pending family notification.”

Later, Mr. Kelly issued a statement acknowledging that the lieutenant was in fact Lieutenant Pigott, and Mr. Browne provided details about what happened early this morning.

He said that Lieutenant Pigott went to Floyd Bennett Field alone, early in the morning, and entered a locker room, where he gained access to a weapon that was not his: a 9-millimeter Glock. Then, he shot himself in the head, Mr. Browne said. His body was discovered in the locker room by a service member who was coming on duty at about 6 a.m.

Following the death of Mr. Morales, Lieutenant Pigott had been on desk duty with Fleet Services, which handles the Police Department’s vehicles.