Yet Another TASER Death

Canada.com reports in Man dies after being tasered by RCMP that a man in his 40's has died about 4 minutes after being Taser'd by RCMP stationed at the Vancouver International Airport. The man was sweating profusely and had been screaming, pounding on a desk, and grabbing a computer off a desk before being Taser'd with 50,000 volts of electricity.

Police and the company that manufactures Tasers tell us that Tasers are safe and do not cause death. Coroners who find other causes of death where people die shortly after being Taser'd have created a medical syndrome to justify their conclusions - excited delirium syndrome - which is not a diagnosis used in psychiatry. In one case involving an autistic victim who died after being Taser'd the police actually blamed it on "autism induced excited delirium syndrome"

I recognize that the use of Tasers by police is not a black and white issue. It does not seem credible though to claim that a death which ensues minutes after receiving 50,000 volts of electricity is not caused, at least in part, by that jolt. TASER company officials and police do their credibility no good in trying to peddle that affront to common sense.