EXPLAINER: What is excited delirium?
3 years, 11 months ago

EXPLAINER: What is excited delirium?

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The attorney for the officer on trial in George Floyd ’s death has raised the concept of excited delirium as testimony examines whether reasonable force was used on Floyd. Thomas Lane, another officer at the scene, can be heard on body camera video as officers hold Floyd down, asking whether Floyd might be experiencing excited delirium. She also agreed that someone experiencing the condition might have “superhuman strength.” On Thursday, Dr. Bill Smock — an expert in forensic medicine who works as a police surgeon for the Louisville Metro Police Department in Kentucky and as a professor of emergency medicine at the University of Louisville — testified that he believes excited delirium is real. Elijah McClain — a Black man put in a stranglehold by officers in Aurora, Colorado, in 2019 — was injected with ketamine after first responders said he was experiencing excited delirium.

Man Officer Nelson Floyd George Floyd Excited Mackenzie Chauvin Excited Delirium Delirium  excited  officer  sign  testified  person  officers  floyd  breaking  man  delirium  explainer

History of this topic

Dozens of deaths reveal risks of injecting sedatives into people restrained by police
10 months, 3 weeks ago

Dozens of deaths reveal risks of injecting sedatives into people restrained by police

Associated Press  

Demetrio Jackson was desperate for medical help when the paramedics arrived. An officer wondered aloud whether Jackson had “excited delirium” and asked a colleague if paramedics were “going to stand around and do nothing.” He voiced approval when one arrived with ketamine, adding Jackson would not like it “when he gets poked.” The Eau Claire Fire Department’s excited delirium protocol …

Paramedics told investigators that Elijah McClain had ‘excited delirium,’ a disputed condition
1 year, 3 months ago

Paramedics told investigators that Elijah McClain had ‘excited delirium,’ a disputed condition

Associated Press  

BRIGHTON, Colo. — Two paramedics on trial over the 2019 death of Elijah McClain told investigators in videotaped interviews previously unseen by the public that the 23-year-old Black man had " excited delirium,” a disputed condition some say is unscientific and rooted in racism. But social justice protests over the 2020 murder of George Floyd drew renewed attention to McClain’s …

Doctors abandon a diagnosis used to justify police custody deaths. It might live on anyway
1 year, 5 months ago

Doctors abandon a diagnosis used to justify police custody deaths. It might live on anyway

LA Times  

Verdell and William Haleck of Utah hold a photo of their son Sheldon, who died after an encounter with Honolulu police in 2015. They filed a civil lawsuit against the officers after his death, which they lost in large part due to an argument that he had died of “excited delirium.” Brooks Walsh hadn’t questioned whether “excited delirium syndrome” was …

A doctors group calls its ‘excited delirium’ paper outdated and withdraws its approval
1 year, 5 months ago

A doctors group calls its ‘excited delirium’ paper outdated and withdraws its approval

Associated Press  

A leading doctors group on Thursday formally withdrew its approval of a 2009 paper on “excited delirium,” a document that critics say has been used to justify excessive force by police. The American College of Emergency Physicians in a statement called the paper outdated and said the term excited delirium should not be used by members who testify in civil …

Police blame some deaths on ‘excited delirium,’ but ER doctors may disavow the term
1 year, 5 months ago

Police blame some deaths on ‘excited delirium,’ but ER doctors may disavow the term

LA Times  

Sheneen McClain sits outside a courtroom in Brighton, Colo., where two police officers face criminal charges in the 2019 death of her son Elijah McClain. But the officers’ attorneys seized on a largely discredited, four-decade-old diagnostic theory called “excited delirium,” which has been increasingly used over the last 15 years as a legal defense to explain how a person experiencing …

Medical examiners group steps away from ‘excited delirium’
1 year, 11 months ago

Medical examiners group steps away from ‘excited delirium’

Associated Press  

A leading group of medical experts says the term “excited delirium” should not be listed as a cause of death. “Excited delirium is often used when there’s a death associated with a physical altercation between a citizen and law enforcement,” said Dr. Roger A. Mitchell Jr., who chairs the pathology department at Howard University in Washington, D.C., where he served …

Authorities claimed these Black men had excited delirium just before they died. But the diagnosis itself is a problem and should be abandoned, a new study says
3 years ago

Authorities claimed these Black men had excited delirium just before they died. But the diagnosis itself is a problem and should be abandoned, a new study says

CNN  

CNN — In videos that show George Floyd’s killing in Minneapolis police custody, an officer holding down the Black man’s ankles says, “I just worry about excited delirium or whatever.” Another officer responds: “That’s why we have the ambulance coming.” But Floyd did not meet any of the 10 criteria used by many to diagnose “excited delirium,” a police surgeon …

Toxicologist: Drugs, 'excited delirium' didn't kill Floyd
3 years, 1 month ago

Toxicologist: Drugs, 'excited delirium' didn't kill Floyd

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ …

EXPLAINER: ‘Excited delirium’ and George Floyd
3 years, 1 month ago

EXPLAINER: ‘Excited delirium’ and George Floyd

Associated Press  

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The issue of whether George Floyd was suffering from the disputed condition of “excited delirium” the day he was killed resurfaced Wednesday at the federal trial of three former Minneapolis police officers charged with depriving him of his civil rights. After officers pinned Floyd to the ground, rookie Thomas Lane can be heard on body camera …

EXPLAINER: Why ‘excited delirium’ came up at Chauvin trial?
3 years, 11 months ago

EXPLAINER: Why ‘excited delirium’ came up at Chauvin trial?

Associated Press  

MINNEAPOLIS — The attorney for the former Minneapolis police officer accused of murder and manslaughter in George Floyd ’s death cited the disputed concept of excited delirium during closing arguments Monday in an effort to show that the force Derek Chauvin used was objectively reasonable given Floyd’s resistance. After three officers pinned Floyd to the ground, Thomas Lane, a rookie …

Why did ‘excited delirium’ come up at Derek Chauvin trial?
3 years, 11 months ago

Why did ‘excited delirium’ come up at Derek Chauvin trial?

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The attorney for the formerMinneapolis …

EXPLAINER: Why is ‘excited delirium’ cited at Chauvin trial?
3 years, 11 months ago

EXPLAINER: Why is ‘excited delirium’ cited at Chauvin trial?

Associated Press  

MINNEAPOLIS — The attorney for the former Minneapolis police officer on trial in George Floyd ’s death revisited the disputed concept of excited delirium Tuesday in an effort to show that the force Derek Chauvin used was objectively reasonable given Floyd’s resistance. Thomas Lane, a rookie officer at the scene, can be heard on body camera video as officers hold …

EXPLAINER: Why is 'excited delirium' cited at Chauvin trial?
3 years, 11 months ago

EXPLAINER: Why is 'excited delirium' cited at Chauvin trial?

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The attorney for the former …

EXPLAINER: What is excited delirium?
3 years, 11 months ago

EXPLAINER: What is excited delirium?

Associated Press  

MINNEAPOLIS — The attorney for the officer on trial in George Floyd ’s death has raised the concept of excited delirium as testimony examines whether reasonable force was used on Floyd. Thomas Lane, another officer at the scene, can be heard on body camera video as officers hold Floyd down, asking whether Floyd might be experiencing excited delirium. She also …

EXPLAINER: What is excited delirium?
3 years, 11 months ago

EXPLAINER: What is excited delirium?

Associated Press  

MINNEAPOLIS — The attorney for the officer on trial in George Floyd’s death has raised the concept of excited delirium as testimony examines whether reasonable force was used on Floyd. Mackenzie described it as a combination of “psychomotor agitation, psychosis, hypothermia, a wide variety of other things you might see in a person or rather bizarre behavior.” Under questioning from …

Tasers Implicated in Excited Delirium Deaths
18 years ago

Tasers Implicated in Excited Delirium Deaths

NPR  

Tasers Implicated in Excited Delirium Deaths This is the second of two reports on excited delirium. Police said the forensic report from the Lafayette Parish coroner's office found Enard died as a result of "cocaine-induced excited delirium." Taser International, the company that makes stun guns, says its product helps police deal with people suspected of having excited delirium. In recent …

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