Excited delirium not Taser killed Gordon Bowe

"It is not helpful to blame resulting deaths on “excited delirium,” since this conveniently avoids having to examine the underlying medical condition or conditions that actually caused death, let alone examining whether use of the conducted energy weapon and/or subsequent measures to physically restrain the subject contributed to those causes of death." - Braidwood Report, July 2009

November 19, 2009
Canwest News

A Castlegar man who died after a fight with Calgary police was high on cocaine and died of excited delirium -- not as the result of a Taser or police actions -- a review has concluded.

Gordon Bowe's common-law wife, however, said Thursday that she's not convinced and is still blaming police officers for the incident in November.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team, which examines complaints about police use of force, deemed that police actions were justified in the death of Bowe, 30, who travelled to Calgary for work.

Clifton Purvis, head of the response team, said he came to his conclusions after reviewing the investigation, consulting with the medical examiner and considering the prosecution's opinion.

Excited delirium is a controversial term recognized by some medical examiners that has been used to explain deaths of individuals in police custody. Most doctors and psychologists do not acknowledge the condition.