When someone dies in law enforcement custody, there's a good chance someone might say"excited delirium." Today, the term is near death itself.DENVER — A controversial theory an ongoing 9NEWS investigation has tied to more than 150 deaths now has zero major medical organizations willing to support it moving forward.
The American College of Emergency Physicians issued a statement that read, in part, “The term excited delirium should not be used among the wider medical and public health community, law enforcement organizations, and ACEP members acting as expert witnesses testifying in relevant civil or criminal litigation.”
In a written statement, the medical director at Physicians for Human Rights Dr. Michele Heisler said, “It is heartening that ACEP has now joined all other U.S. medical and psychiatric associations in unequivocally repudiating ‘excited delirium.’ We applaud the ACEP members who have worked tirelessly to advocate for reform in their association and who pushed through this landmark resolution.”
Those who suggest it’s real and people can die from it say the condition is marked by, among other things, super human strength, imperviousness to pain, and severe agitation.