INQUEST CLEARS POLICE, MEDICS

Cocaine Users Died After Struggles

POLICE and medical officials were powerless to prevent the deaths of two
Winnipeggers who separately overdosed on cocaine in a two-week span, a
Manitoba inquest judge ruled yesterday.

But provincial court Judge Glenn Joyal said the tragic cases are a reminder
for emergency personnel to be vigilant, especially with the increasing
prevalence of cocaine on city streets.

Both victims died of what's known as "excitable delirium," a rare condition
brought on by cocaine use that medical experts say turns the user into a
"ticking time bomb."

Once in that state, people pose an immediate threat to harm themselves and
others and usually become violent and unpredictable. Death can often occur
after any sort of struggle or physical exertion.

Joyal recommended that police follow through with a planned training
session for all officers about how they should restrain and respond to
people suffering from excitable delirium.

Winnipeg police drafted a training policy on excitable delirium in 1998 and
sent a written manual and video to all police districts, court was told.
Arthur Randy Gill, 45, hurled himself through a plate-glass window and
fought with police and paramedics before going into cardiac arrest after
being shackled on Feb.10, 2002.

Police were called to the scene by people who saw a man bleeding heavily
from a large cut on his arm, with his pants around his ankles.

Police believed Gill might have been involved in an assault or
break-and-enter and tried to handcuff him. Gill became extremely violent
and fought his way off a stretcher, kicking a paramedic in the head.

Police shackled Gill and placed him on his stomach, which is a dangerous
position for people suffering excitable delirium, court was told.

Officers admitted at the inquest they never suspected Gill was suffering
from the condition and said they might have handled the situation
differently had they known. Joyal said yesterday the manner of restraining
Gill "was not ideal" but it's difficult to second-guess the police response
in what was clearly a volatile situation.

Less than two weeks later, Laura Lee Draper, 39, stopped breathing as
police tried to control her.

Draper had run to a neighbour's house in the middle of the night on Feb.
23, 2002, claiming someone was trying to kill her. She was foaming at the
mouth and became violent with the residents.

Police struggled to control the woman, who repeatedly "thrashed about" and
was eventually handcuffed for her own safety, the inquest was told. Several
officers at the scene immediately suspected Draper might have excitable
delirium but said they had no choice but to restrain her.

One officer described her as behaving like "a rabid animal" prior to
collapsing.

Draper was pronounced dead at hospital.

"I can find nothing in the police conduct that was or could be called, in
the circumstances, inappropriate or untoward," said Joyal.

"Neither can I find anything in the medical emergency treatment of Ms.
Draper that was unnecessarily slow, inappropriate or inadequate."