RCMP FACING A NEW DRUG INDUCED THREAT

Their perpetrator is sweaty, making animal noises and likely to
either run or become violent. They are not carrying a weapon or
likely to get behind the wheel, but they are an RCMP officers worst nightmare.

Excited delirium is defined as "a state of extreme mental and
physiological excitement, characterized by extreme agitation,
hyperthermia, hostility, exceptional strength and endurance without
apparent fatigue, a condition that many RCMP officers across the
country are facing when a believed combination of an unknown mental
state and heavy drugs that can cause individuals to become delirious,
violent, and dangerous.

Constable James Murray, with the Mayerthorpe RCMP, spoke on this
topic to members of the Lac Ste. Anne Rural Crime Watch, as well as
members of his own detachment.

"We are seeing this more in the cities because of the variety of
drugs...it is mainly occurring in the cities at this point, but my
reason for bringing this up to members is to let them know that this
is occurring and this could be something that they could be facing in
this area," he explained, adding that because of the drug volume and
the presence in our area, this could be something that we RCMP could
see in the future.

Murray explained that a lot of research is being done to understand
this new issue and that it is not known what causes this state, but
it is believed to be large quantities of hard drugs, possibly in
combination with each other.

"From a police perspective, this is the nightmare that we are seeing
because of the different types of drugs that are out there and the
combinations," Murray explained. "People are not just using the
marijuana anymore. What [drug dealers] are starting to do is lace the
marijuana joints with crack," Murray said, explaining that because
crack is more addictive, dealers will put it in with the marijuana so
that their 'clients' will ingest it unknowingly.

"In return, after [the client] has tried it, they have that taste,
they have that addiction and the dealer will say, 'hey do you want to
buy some crack now?"

Murray gave an example of a break and enter case in the United States
to illustrate this condition. In this scenario, a gentleman was
trying to break into a barbershop. The suspect had removed his
clothes, was sweating profusely, had been shot twice in the arm by
the owner, and it still took 12 officers to bring him down. The
suspect was so out of it during the incident that he reportedly kept
shouting to police, 'put it in the bag.'

"When the police come on scene, it is the 'fight or flight syndrome'
where (the suspect) will either want to fight with you physically or
they will want nothing to do with you and run away." Murray
explained. People with this condition have more than a possible
criminal record to worry about.

"When these people are at this level of excitement...they go from an
extreme high, they eventually get restrained by the police and nine
times out of 10 what ends up happening is that their body starts to
relax, their heart rate goes down and they die," Murray explained.

Although the many deaths of persons while in police custody have been
a cause for much controversy, according to the Vancouver Sun, RCMP
have been directed to first call an ambulance before they administer
any use of a taser.

According to Murray, the use of a taser is ineffective on these
individuals, "It doesn't work right off the bat. There has been cases
where a gentlemen was under this type of excitement and was tasered
on repeated occasions without affect," he said.

If you encounter someone that you think has excited delirium:

.Keep your distance

.Lower the lights if possible

.Slow your speech, lower your voice

.Slow your movements

.Keep your hands visible

.Keep the person talking

.Create distance slowly

Signs of excited delirium:

. Subject's actions are bizarre, illogical and possibly violent

.Subject may remove their clothing, may be sweating profusely, hot to touch

.Head may be tilted back, eyes slightly shut

. May display rigorous resistance or flight behavior

. Unintelligible speech, animal sounds