Will Banning “Excited Delirium” as Diagnosis or Cause of Death in California Change Anything?

By Robert Phillips
Deputy District Attorney (ret.) 

Excited Delirium: New law eliminates the term “excited delirium” as an excuse in police use-of-force cases. Will it change anything  

On Oct. 8, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law AB 360, authored by Assembly Member Mike Gipson (D-Carson), enacting into law Evidence Code §1156.5 and H&S Code §§24400 through 24403, to become effective on Jan. 1. This legislation eliminates from official recognition and use of the oft-used term “excited delirium” (or anything similar: excited delirium syndrome, hyperactive delirium, agitated delirium, and/or exhaustive mania.) 

So why do we in law enforcement care   

The term “excited delirium” has been around for decades. Over the last 15 years, it has increasingly been used in attempts to provide an explanation for how a person experiencing severe agitation can die suddenly, suggesting in police use-of-force cases, for instance, that the death was the result of something other than the force used by the police. For instance, it was used as a legal defense in the 2020 high-profile deaths of George Floyd in Minneapolis; Daniel Prude in Rochester, New York; and Angelo Quinto, in Antioch, Calif., among others.  

However, in reality, “excited delirium,” if a “condition” at all, is one that is not even recognized by the American Medical Association or the American Psychiatric Association. The National Association of Medical Examiners has specifically rejected excited delirium as a cause of death.

In October, the American College of Emergency Physicians disavowed its 2009 position paper supporting the term as a diagnosis. It now recommends that: “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.”   

Medical professionals are now beginning to recognize that “excited delirium” is, at best, ....

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