Alberta Taser death can’t totally be blamed on excited delirium: Inquiry

May 13, 2009
By THE CANADIAN PRESS

An inquiry into an Alberta man who died after RCMP zapped him three times with a Taser says his death can’t be conclusively blamed on a condition called excited delirium.

Jason Doan of Red Deer died in a coma in hospital on Aug. 30, 2006, three weeks after he was subdued by Mounties for smashing windows.

In her report, Judge Monica Bast says the electronic stun gun did not cause Doan, 28, to go into cardiac arrest.

Bast says the most likely cause of his heart stopping was excited delirium, which was the official cause noted on his death certificate.

But she says the exact cause of his death can’t be determined because of lack of medical proof.

Earlier this year, RCMP removed from its manuals the words excited delirium — a term for unexplained deaths involving police that has been panned by medical associations and civil libertarians.