Comments about ‘Could 'excited delirium' be cause of deaths?’

any bad that happens.

this event was unfortunate for sure.

Desperately seeking excuses won't bring this man back.
A defibulator of some type should be dispatched with a car that carries a police officer with a taser. The other alternative is not to use tasers in non deadly situations. I hope the widow of this man can help others by getting this done in an settlement. Hospic not allowed in a hospital, unless they were requested. That is until changed, but the hospital had to be sued for them to concede the need for them.

A cover up for a fellow officer and policy's is out of line.

If the widow wants to give a walk for this fine.
I just don't see how she could with any type of a conscious.

This article gave me excited delirium.

Just accept the fact that our Utah Police sometimes go overboard and use a Taser when not needed. What's wrong with you people, they tasered a guy and killed him. Tasers can kill .. it's documented.

Really? They killed him? So are you saying it was murder? Manslaughter? REEEALY???

Utah Police sometimes go overboard? What exactly do you call overboard? Have you ever been accused of going overboard when you knew the claim was bogus? Really?

Have you ever been a police officer? Have you even bothered to go through the UHP citizens academy so you can know what they go through and know what you are talking about?

They have precious little time to play 20 questions, ask if the guy wants a latte, or get him a comfy pillow. Really, you should tell us where this documentation is you refer to about tasers killing people.

Making random claims like that have no teeth and are usually bogus. Did you get it off of a 9/11 conspiracy site? Do you believe that Bush took the towers down? Was it an inside job? Really?

This case HAS NOT BEEN DOCUMENTED as to cause of death yet. It may have NOTHING to do with the taser. Really, you should figure that part out first.

Really.

Interesting article. I look forward to learning more about this, not to reading more rants. to Anonymous: please proofread aloud before submitting. Much of what you write is incoherent. It adds nothing but confusion because people can't figure out what you are trying to say.

We always want to find blame!

You know what... even his wife, Anna locked him out of the car, she didn't want him to be near their daughter. Obviously she was scared, just listen to her 911 call, you hear her fear not only that he was cabable of hurting himself, but motorists passing by. You can hear the fear YET LOVE in her voice for her husband, yet she knew he was freakin' out!!! Her voice is full of love for him!

So... before you blame officers of the law, go to law enforcement school, get out on the streets put yourself into situations as they do daily! THEN start talking about what they should do in ANY given situation!

btw I am not in law enforcment, and don't have family in law enforcement either, but I am thankful we have those who are willing to put their lives on the line EVERYDAY for our safety.

Now.... understand I know there are some "bad cops" out there, but by and large they are a minority!

My heart goes out to a wife, children, parents and siblings who have lost Brian, but.... BLAME WILL GET US NO WHERE!

The police in this instance were forewarned about the medical cause of the mans acts yet they treated it as a criminal offense. The 911 dispatcher should have had an ambulance dispatched and police as assistants for the ambulance crew. Treating a medical problem of an individual as a criminal act is unwarranted. It may not have made a difference in the mans survival but it should never been treated like a criminal response by the police. Responding to a crime is one thing, but responding to a known emergency medical situation is another. There is no excuse for the actions of the police and 911 in this situation.

@c'mon people - I have been a law enforcement officer in the state of Utah for more than 17 years. I thank you for your post. I have less than 3 years until I can retire. I consider myself a good officer with good judgement and restraint. But I must say, I will not stay any longer than 20 years partially because I am tired of being perceived as the 'bad guy'. Every day I go to work I do so KNOWING and ACCEPTING that may be my last day. Many will say that each day may be their last too but I am talking about an intentional act of murder by a human being, not a traffic or industrial accident. An act that my occupation exposes me to daily. Then, to hear people second guess an officer for a split second judgement really makes me angry. If confronted with a naked man acting crazy and fearing for their safety, I wonder how many of those who are quick to judge would not utilize the Taser if it were in their hand? These officers did what was necessary and malice was not in their heart when they Tazed him. Period.

I previously mentioned under the post by "I Agree..." that I am currently a law enforcement officer and have been for 17 years.

To address a post by ANNONYMOUS "The other alternative is not to use tasers in non deadly situations."

You can be sure that if it is indeed a "deadly situation" the Taser will most certainly NOT be an option. By definition a "deadly situation" is one likely to produce death to the officer or another person. At that point, a deadly situation is met with deadly force, not a Taser.

Everybody calls the police when there is an emergency. Even the paramedics wouldn't have responded without the police there. Maybe the police, in order to better protect themselves, should only respond to criminal matters and leave the rest of our problems to ourselves to work out. Obviously, we don't want to support a small town officer in the middle of no where trying to handle a man that a psychiatrist in a hostpital would have ordered sedated. I for one support him in doing the best he could. I don't believe for one second he responded there hoping to hurt a crazy guy.

Although an ambulance to the scene may have been a good idea, there is no way EMTs or even a trained psychiatrist were going to treat this guy in the condition he was in until he had been subdued. It would be foolish and goes against what they are trained to do.

Really? It's documented? Show me research and documentation by someone other than the ACLU and Amnesty International. Even Amnesty International admits that the majority of deaths they attribute to having taser involvement are primarily caused by drugs. So please, show us all this "documentation" you claim exists. In reality, they have conducted numerous studies that show the taser doesn't cause deaths, google NIJ and taser. The amps (the thing that can affect your heart) from a taser are .0021 amps, a 9 volt battery has far more than that. 50000 volts sounds like a lot until you learn that a static shock from touching a door knob can have 35000 volts.

Uhhh...

A man pulls off all his clothes and runs into traffic.

Lets see.... Should I call 911,
Police or try to get him dressed?

You guessed right- The police.

It seems that some people, especially police officers, are responding to the concern here as if people are calling for the policeman involved to be charged or fired. I don't think people who are concerned about people dying after being tased want so much to punish the police as they want the policies for taser use to be clarified and perhaps restricted.

The fact is that this man died immediately after being tased, and this is not an isolated incident. Tasers are obviously dangerous as they send shock through the body that takes you off your feet screaming in pain. I don't think that EVER happens when you touch a door knob. I think the police should stop taking the questions surrounding tasers as a personal affront and get on board with trying to make sure that people do not die in non-deadly situations, which obviously the police felt this situation was because they did not shoot this man. Let's call for dispassionate studies and tight policies regarding taser use.

If this person had run out into traffic and cause a collision that took, not only his life, but the life of others what would we be saying about the police now?
I'm sure a death like this causes those using tasers to evaluate their policies.

So the police officer had excited delirium? That explains it.

It seems other news outlets said the other officers after arriving discussed how they could make the tasering look warranted. So which is it?

I think this article is very interesting and would like to follow Mash's research. That being said I believe the Officer used restraint and the least violent form to apprehend the suspect. We have had several dTaser deaths in Texas also. yes most had sometype of drug related mental illness or legal meds for it in thier system. I have MS and take many drugs that might cause changes within my body and make me more likely to die if tased. The Police are in a bad situation and trying to be Humane. I support them fully. I also know more test need to be made on Tasers. I send my prayers and sympathy to this mans family. If the Wife who witnessed it believes her hubby was a danger to himself as the tapes show, then she too knows that the Officer only meant to help her hubby. Prayers to both sides are all that are needed. I have felt a taser shot as a job requirement and knew to be off my meds for a week before. The full body shield used in prisons hurts worse no deaths no drugs in system. Wonder if this proves anything?

Let's not forget that Mr. Cardall took 50,000 volts -- twice. The first was not justified; but even if we pretend it was, nobody can claim the second was justified. It was the second shock that killed him, not "excited delirium." Hit a guy with 50,000 volts, stunning him and knocking him down, then finish him with another 50,000.

Fair enough. How about in an effort to be reasonable, all the people like yourself who are calling for changes actually do a little research on what you are talking about. Did you ever consider that people who have educated themselves on the topic feel a bit like Galileo must have felt trying to convince the general populace that the sun did not revolve around the earth. Now I'm not comparing myself to Galileo, but I am comparing most of the hysterical population to the uneducated masses he dealt with. Study up, then maybe we can all have a reasonable discussion.