Death due to excited delirium

March 27, 2009
By MICHELLE THOMPSON, SUN MEDIA

Excited delirium killed an Edmonton tattoo shop owner who died after being shot with a stun gun, an autopsy determined.

"Excited delirium is a state of extreme excitation that can be fatal - it can lead to a state of exhaustion where the heart stops," said Alberta Justice spokesman David Dear.

"Alberta's Fatality Review Board will review this case to determine whether to recommend a fatality inquiry be held."

Trevor Grimolfson, 38, died Oct. 29 after police deployed a stun gun in an attempt to subdue him.

Before police brought him under control, Grimolfson had been rampaging through a west-end pawn shop near his tattoo shop and even attacked a man, witnesses said.

Multiple witnesses said police reacted appropriately when they used the weapon.

Dear said the cause of Grimolfson's death was brought on by drug use, but could not say which narcotics Grimolfson had taken before becoming erratic.

On the social networking site Facebook, some expressed skepticism about the autopsy's findings.

"It was announced today that Trevor died from excited delirium - a dubious condition at best and one that only ever shows up when Tasers are involved," writes Patti Gillman Nee Bagnell on a memorial page for Grimolfson. "It's meant to take the blame off of police and put it onto the victim.

"With current developments, I'm blown away by the Alberta government's use of that as a cause of death."