HALIFAX – Police and medical personnel need better training to recognize and deal with people who are agitated and highly aggressive, says a report by a panel of experts for the Nova Scotia government.
The report was commissioned to look at excited delirium – a medical condition characterized by extreme agitation, aggression, paranoia, rambling speech and extraordinary strength – after the death of a mentally ill Dartmouth, N.S., man who had been Tasered.
A coroner found excited delirium played a role in the death.
Friday’s report uses the term autonomic hyperarousal state (AHS) to describe the condition, which it said can lead to death, especially for people with a pre-existing medical or psychiatric condition.
The panel says medical personnel and police need training to recognize people with AHS.
"I think that would benefit people living with mental illness and perhaps save some lives. I know it would save some lives actually," said Stephen Ayer, executive director of the provincial Schizophrenia Society and a member of the panel.
The panel said if they can’t be calmed down, people who show signs of AHS should be restrained quickly, to reduce the added stress on the person’s system.
It said the level of force needed is up to police to assess, but they should use the least intrusive method and get immediate medical assistance because of the likelihood of death.
The report made no recommendations about the use of Tasers.
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