LINCOLN, Neb. -- A Lincoln man died after an officer used a Taser to subdue him early Friday morning, police said.

Gabriel Bitterman was found at the scene of a domestic disturbance call just before 3 a.m. Officers said he was holding a knife to his girlfriend's throat.

"Mr. Bitterman had dragged his 19-year-old girlfriend to the back bedroom and had her in there at knifepoint," said Lincoln Police Chief Tom Casady.

Casady said Bitterman ignored repeated orders to drop the knife. Instead of using his gun, Casady said the responding officer reached for his Taser and sent a 5-second discharge into Bitterman's torso.

He stopped breathing moments later. Officers began CPR, called for an ambulance and had him taken to a hospital, where he died.

"I don't think this was justified," said Robert Peterson, whose daughter was the one Bitterman had threatened. "I believe this could have been prevented. I don't understand why Mace wasn't used."

The officer, a nine-year veteran of the force, is on routine administrative leave while a grand jury investigates the incident.

The officer who responded had a camera crew from MTV with him. The crew didn't follow the officer into the house, but the officer was wearing a microphone, which recorded audio of everything that happened.

Casady said police had secured the tape.

Bitterman's criminal record showed he'd been charged with child abuse and assault within the last two months. He also had a protection order filed against him by a Valparaiso woman who said Bitterman was stalking her 13-year-old daughter.

Others said Bitterman was a loving father to his 5-month-old baby, was working toward his General Education Degree and had worked to build homes through the Lincoln Action Program.