Excited Delirium "training"

(CP) EDMONTON - All RCMP officers in Alberta must now receive training on a controversial disorder linked to people who have died after being zapped by electronic stun guns such as tasers. ... The officers are being taught that people experiencing excited delirium are in a life-threatening medical emergency and must be taken into custody so they can be transported to hospital for treatment. And they are being told that using a conducted energy weapon such as a taser is probably the best way to subdue them. ... [LINK]

Before the training:
1) The subject is acting strangely
2) The subject gets tasered

After the training:
1a) The subject is acting strangely
1b) One officer says, "Why it's Excited Delirium", and the other officers nod their heads sagely.
2) The subject gets tasered

Given the record of extremely bad diagnostic abilities on the part of the police (*), I'm not sure if it's a good idea to be expecting them to be making medical diagnosis.

(* In general. Too many examples, here's just the latest one [LINK].)


"These people are in a medical emergency and if left alone will probably die," said Cpl. Clint Vair... "The RCMP suggests that the optimum response option might be using a conductive energy weapon because it gives us that very rapid incapacitation for a short duration of time, and during this time ... we can actually get in and get handcuffs on and have them restrained."

And I don't believe that this policy is supported by any rigorous science. Instead, it sounds like something derived from Taser propaganda.