Current:Home > MyA doctors group calls its ‘excited delirium’ paper outdated and withdraws its approval -USAMarket
A doctors group calls its ‘excited delirium’ paper outdated and withdraws its approval
View
Date:2025-04-18 12:53:17
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The American College of Emergency Physicians in a statement called the paper outdated and said the term excited delirium should not be used by members who testify in civil or criminal cases. The group’s directors voted on the matter Thursday in Philadelphia.
“This means if someone dies while being restrained in custody ... people can’t point to excited delirium as the reason and can’t point to ACEP’s endorsement of the concept to bolster their case,” said Dr. Brooks Walsh, a Connecticut emergency doctor who pushed the organization to strengthen its stance.
Earlier this week, California became the first state to bar the use of excited delirium and related terms as a cause of death in autopsies. The legislation, signed Sunday by Gov. Gavin Newsom, also prohibits police officers from using it in reports to describe people’s behavior.
In March, the National Association of Medical Examiners took a stand against the term, saying it should not be listed as a cause of death. Other medical groups, including the American Medical Association, had previously rejected excited delirium as a diagnosis. Critics have called it unscientific and rooted in racism.
The emergency physicians’ 2009 report said excited delirium’s symptoms included unusual strength, pain tolerance and bizarre behavior and called the condition “potentially life-threatening.”
The document reinforced and codified racial stereotypes, Walsh said.
The 14-year-old publication has shaped police training and still figures in police custody death cases, many involving Black men who died after being restrained by police. Attorneys defending officers have cited the paper to admit testimony on excited delirium, said Joanna Naples-Mitchell, an attorney and research adviser for Physicians for Human Rights, which produced a report last year on the diagnosis and deaths in police custody.
In 2021, the emergency physicians’ paper was cited in the New York attorney general’s report on the investigation into the death of Daniel Prude, a 41-year-old Black man. A grand jury rejected charges against police officers in that case.
Excited delirium came up during the 2021 trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was later convicted in the death of George Floyd. This fall, the term resurfaced during the ongoing trials of police officers charged in the deaths of Elijah McClain in Colorado and Manuel Ellis in Washington state. Floyd, McClain and Ellis were Black men who died after being restrained by police.
The emergency physicians group had distanced itself from the term previously, but it had stopped short of withdrawing its support for the 2009 paper.
“This is why we pushed to put out a stronger statement explicitly disavowing that paper,” Naples-Mitchell said. “It’s a chance for ACEP to really break with the past.”
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
veryGood! (4)
Related
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- 'Go faster!' Watch as moose barrels down Wyoming ski slope, weaving through snowboarders
- US military drills in Philippines unaffected by America’s focus on Ukraine and Gaza, US general says
- Jets owner Woody Johnson throws shade at Zach Wilson: 'Didn't have' backup QB last season
- Jamie Foxx reps say actor was hit in face by a glass at birthday dinner, needed stitches
- Georgia football zooms past own record by spending $5.3 million on recruiting
- NBA trade tracker: Gordon Hayward, Bojan Bogdanovic, Patrick Beverley on the move
- Denzel Washington to reunite with Spike Lee on A24 thriller 'High and Low'
- How to watch new prequel series 'Dexter: Original Sin': Premiere date, cast, streaming
- Man ticketed for shouting expletive at Buffalo officer can sue police, appeals court rules
Ranking
- Rylee Arnold Shares a Long
- Spencer Dinwiddie leads top NBA potential buyout candidates
- Gov. Shapiro seeks school-funding boost to help poorer districts, but Republicans remain wary
- Minneapolis settles lawsuit alleging journalists were harassed, hurt covering Floyd protests
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- Review: Netflix's 'One Day' is an addictive romance to get you through the winter
- Ex-prison officer charged in death of psychiatric patient in New Hampshire
- Idaho Republicans oust House majority leader amid dispute over budget process
Recommendation
Spooky or not? Some Choa Chu Kang residents say community garden resembles cemetery
Ex-prison officer charged in death of psychiatric patient in New Hampshire
Marianne Williamson suspends presidential campaign
Gina Rodriguez brings baby to 'Not Dead Yet' interview, talks working as a new mom: 'I don't do it all'
Person accused of accosting Rep. Nancy Mace at Capitol pleads not guilty to assault charge
Henry Fambrough, member of Motown group The Spinners, dies at 85
'Days of Our Lives' star Arianne Zucker sues producers over sexual harassment
Deadly military helicopter crash among many aviation disasters in Southern California