The last eight days of David Cornelius Smith's life were spent in a coma from which he never emerged after he was Tasered during a scuffle with two Minneapolis police officers.

Still, his mother said, he has a message to deliver.

"I'm here to do a job for my son because he can't speak for himself," said Diane Smith, less than a day after life support was ended for the 28-year-old Brooklyn Park man. "He wants me to let everyone know that this is unfair and no family should ever be subjected to such cruelness."

David Smith, 28, died Friday night at Hennepin County Medical Center. The Sept. 9 scuffle with Minneapolis police officers Timothy Gorman and Timothy Callahan occurred after Smith refused to leave the YMCA at 30 S. 9th St. and police were called.

Police say Smith was disturbing patrons in the sixth-floor gym, was combative and slightly injured one of the officers before he was Tased and handcuffed. They realized he was having a medical emergency and he was rushed by ambulance to the hospital. His family said he suffered cardiac arrest from the incident and remained on life support until Friday.

Minneapolis police spokesman Sgt. Jesse Garcia defended the officers' actions, saying they "absolutely acted correctly" and that the incident escalated when Smith became combative.

"The escalation of force went up when an officer was hurt. It's really unfortunate, but what really could have prevented this? If Smith would have left when the YMCA asked him to leave and when the officers also asked him to leave. Putting the blame on two fine officers really takes the focus off of inexcusable personal behavior."

Gorman and Callahan were placed on standard paid administrative leave. Both have returned to work. An investigation into the incident continues.

Smith's family members say that they have not been approached by Minneapolis police to discuss what happened.