SAN DIEGO — Police departments and defense attorneys for law enforcement agencies throughout California can no longer use Excited Delirium as a justification for in-custody deaths.
On October 9, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 360 into law outlawing the controversial condition that has been used in at least 15 in-custody deaths in San Diego County as well as the deaths of George Floyd, Elijah McClain, Daniel Pride, and hundreds of others nationwide.
State Assemblymember Dr. Akilah Weber who represents portions of San Diego County co-authored the bill.
The law is now the first in the nation that outlaws what the American Medical Association has denounced, calling the condition "a sole justification for law enforcement use of excessive force."
What Is "Excited Delirium"
Excited Delirium, is a condition where people show sudden signs of aggressive and oftentimes bizarre behavior. Symptoms, according to a 2011 report published in the Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, include "shouting, paranoia, panic, violence toward others, unexpected physical strength, and hyperthermia."
The theory has long been used by law enforcement agencies, coroners, and district attorneys to describe the actions seen by some during police encounters. If allowed to intensify, the delirium can put so much strain on the heart that those suffering from it could die.
It states that when people with a history of drug abuse and mental health conditions are placed in high-intensity situations, for example, with maximum police restraints, they can grow severely agitated and display feats of superhuman strength prior to their heart giving out and dying.
According to public records obtained by CBS 8, since 2014, the San Diego County District Attorney's Office has mentioned excited delirium as a factor in at least 15 in-custody deaths in San Diego County.
Assembly Bill 360 prohibits coroners or medical examiners from listing “excited delirium" as the cause of death. It also bans police officers from using the term in an incident report and defense attorneys from employing it as a defense in civil cases.
During an April 2023 interview, CBS 8 sat down with Dr. Akilah Weber about her push to outlaw excited delirium.
"This is what we're telling people that their loved ones died from," says Weber. "If you had someone die from a heart attack, you can go and read about it. If you tell someone that their loved one died from excited delirium, and they try and learn more about it, they're going to be even more confused because it's not a true medical definition."
Added Weber, "It has been disproportionately used on people of color, and particularly, with men. That turns it away from having any medical basis and towards that of a social construct. It made me wonder why I never heard about this during my residency, my med school fellowship, or since I've been in practice."
Over the course of the past decade, defense attorneys for local cities, as well as the County of San Diego, have used excited delirium to deflect from the actions of police officers and jail guards in numerous high-profile deaths such as the death of Lucky Phounsy, Paul Silva, Oral Nunis, Earl McNeil and others.
The new law will go into effect on January 1, 2024.
