JBeukema
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A Man Dies After Being Tasered 34 Times, But The State Rules Police Officers Involved Aren't Responsible For His Death - hartfordadvocate.comAccording to the Connecticut Medical Examiner's office, the cause of death for Efrain Carrion (the Middletown guy who died after being hit 34 times by police Tasers) was excited delirium. (The examiner's office has ruled at least three times in recent years that excited delirium was the cause of death in cases involving police use of Tasers.)
That's a controversial ruling because excited delirium isn't recognized as a medical condition by authorities such as the World Health Organization, the American Medical Association or the American Psychological Association. Taser International spokesman Steve Tuttle points out that other medical authorities, including the American College of Emergency Physicians and the National Association of Medical Examiners, consider it a legitimate cause of death.
Those who see excited delirium as a specific medical condition say it often occurs when the victim has been high on cocaine or other drugs, has a history of mental illness, is obese and sweating heavily, or is the subject of a combination of those problems. Taser critics charge that excited delirium is nothing more than a cover for police misuse of stun guns.