Taser Epistimology on Trial
At an inquiry into the tasering death of a mentally ill man in Nova Scotia, a clinical psychologist who has been called to testify is taking on the concept of “excited delirium”. Excited delirium is the corporate-speak medical diagnosis that was invented by TASER International to obfuscate responsibility when yet another person happens to die at roughly the same time as they’re having electricity discharged into their body.
Expert at N.S. inquiry challenges notion of excited delirium in man’s death — Canadian Press
“The attractiveness of the term may relate to some of its proponents having … the subjective perception that conducted energy weapon use and physical, mechanical restraint used by law enforcement officers deserves to be excluded or absolved as contributing in any way to an in-custody death,” the report says. “The deceased is identified as the culprit and must have had the condition of excited delirium.”
Noone testified the term implies those in the throes of excited delirium “had something wrong with them” to begin with. “And if they died, they were going to die anyway. Excited delirium (proponents) say that people walk around in this state where they could drop at any moment. In my experience, they are not dropping at any moment.”
I love the sound of sanity in a courtroom.
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