Does ‘Excited Delirium’ Kill Taser Victims?

[The Straight Story]

Does ‘Excited Delirium’ Kill Taser Victims?


Even when supposedly “non-lethal” weapons are used to subdue a suspect, people can still die. Many blame the weapons used; Amnesty International report that at least 334 people have died in the USA after being Tasered. But a new study suggests that a condition known as Excited Delirium may be responsible in many cases.taser-demol

The University of Miami’s official website on the condition says that the condition, which are frequently associated with drug abuse, include “bizarre and/or aggressive behavior, shouting, paranoia, panic, violence towards other people, unexpected physical strength, and hyperthermia.”These symptoms are often noted in suspects who are subdued apparently without harm, either by physical force, pepper spray or Taser, but who die shortly afterwards.”

The condition has always been hugely controversial since it was described in 1985. It is not recognized by the American Medical Association, and some critics, like the Excited Delirium blog , regard it as a “flimsy excuse” used to cover up police brutality.

Police psychologist Mike Webster, testifying on Taser deaths, said that excited delirium was a “dubious disorder” used by Taser International in its training of police. Certainly a page on the company’s website suggests that excited delirium suggests it is the real cause of deaths blamed on Tasers by “certain anti-police groups.”

A 2005 book Excited Delirium Syndrome: Cause of Death and Prevention cast doubt on the traditional explanations on how such deaths occur (such as asphyxia) and argued that it was a form of sudden cardiac arrest brought on by stressors, but this had remained controversial.

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/08/does-excited-delirium-kill-taser-victims/

[kirby]

1. Tasers dont kill people, cops do n/t

[1handclapn]

2. it's Fn TORTURE.. they keep shocking them when they couldnt stand for 20 min after the first burst.!

[MercutioATC]

6. It's not "torture".

Tasers work by short-circuiting the nervous system, not by causing pain.

They actually don't hurt that much.

[PM Martin]

9. And how do you know that tasers do not hurt?

[Canuckistanian]

3. They tried this BS defence in Canada

Remember that Polish guy who died at the Vancouver airport?

The RCMP lawyers were using this "Excited Delirium" as an excuse for why he died.

And of course, they had witnesses in from Taser International, who were shocked, SHOCKED that their fine product was being blamed for the death.

[juno jones]

4. "Excited Delirium'

It sounds like a Victorian Medical diagnosis. And probably has as much relation to the truth.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

5. I personally think it is sudden cardiac arrest.

High levels of stimulants combined with extreme physical exertion and anaerobic muscle contraction from the taser would lead to high levels of lactic acid. That in addition to four or five cops laying on you for 5 minutes could easily cause acidosis and hypoxia severe enough to cause a lethal cardiac arrhythmia.

[BlooInBloo]

7. No, cops do.

[ChoralScholar]

8. It wasn't the gunshot wound that killed him,

it was the exsanguination!

[busybl]

10. tasers should be outlawed

cops are using them like toys.