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and more...
"The causes of Excited Delirium are multifactoral. No one really knows for certain what
is happening" -- Canadian Police Research Centre
Children continue to be the victims of abusive use of tasers by Canadian police officers. Cases documented
by Amnesty international include the abusive use of the taser by law enforcement officers to rouse an unconscious man, to
shock a 15-year-old as he ran from undercover officers, to jolt a 17-year-old 13 times in the space of 20 minutes and to awaken
two sleeping men.
Six people died after being shot with tasers in 2005 and 2006 in Canada. All were subjected to multiple
cycles of the taser, with one man in Niagara receiving 12 shocks in three minutes. This is despite warnings in a report commissioned
by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police in 2005 that "police officers need to be aware of the adverse effects of multiple,
consecutive cycles" of a Conductive Energy Device" (CED).
Excited Delirium The definition of this term and how
the condition relates to deaths linked to restraint procedures used by police and prisoner officers remain subjects of controversy.
Some research studies have suggested that the use of electro-shock weapons exacerbates the condition. A Canadian Police Research
centre report noted that excited delirium was gaining increasing acceptance as the main contributor to deaths "proximal" to
taser use.
The Canadian study took a definition of excited delirium from a 2001 study by Dr. Morrison and
Dr. Sadler which states that the symptoms include "a state of extreme mental and physiological excitement characterised by
extreme agitation, hypothermia, epiphoria, hostility, exceptional strength and endurance without apparent fatigue."
They noted, however, that there was no medical consensus on this definition stating rather that "the condition of excited
delirium is not a clinical entity on its own, but a constellation of symptoms from a varied and severe underlying process"
and that there only existed "causative theories at present."
The above material contains excerpts from Amnesty International USA
POLICE ARE SUING
TASER: Taser international is being sued by police officers across the nation (USA) claiming
they were seriously injured after being shocked with the electronic stun gun during training classes. Injuries listed
included "painful, permanent and progressive" hearing and vision loss and neurological damage, multiple spinal fractures,
burns, a shoulder dislocation and soft tissue injuries. Many lawsuits, including a few class action suits, have been filed
from victims and victim's families for wrongful tasering or death, although Taser Int'l has managed to get many thrown
out via legal loopholes.
CORRUPTION: Taser int'l stays afloat despite the dead
bodies and broad criticism primarily due to taking advantage of many layers of systematic corruption in play, long before
Tasers. Overly strong local law enforcement associations under-mining the community's ability to "police the police"
have led to many conflicts of interest such as with county medical examiners who wrongfully rule deaths of persons in police
custody to avoid implicating police. Coroners rule many deaths as solely attributed to secondary factors such as drugs, and
even going so far to specifically exclude the taser as a possible contributing factor (a brave few have implicated
the taser, however, ruling the death as a "homocide"). The new non-medically recognized catch term, "excited delirium," is
being logged as cause of death in many cases (taser and otherwise), suggesting a breach of professionalism as never before.
In the judicial system which rarely holds law enforcement accountable, Taser Int'l is breaking ground in filing lawsuits against
entities that have published critical medical reviews or conducted critical studies, resulting in a recent chilling effect
on the medical and scientific community. Meanwhile, they have embarked on a campaign to meet with and intimidate activists
and critical lawmakers as well.
Above two articles are excerpts from STAT.
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