Excited delirium: The only time you ever hear about it is in an police-involved death.
It's not listed as a condition by the American Medical Association or the American Psychiatric Association. It's not included in the psychiatry bible, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Medical Disorders (DSM).
John Adams of the Great Falls Tribune has a great article today on how controversial the diagnosis of excited deliriumis within the medical community. In it, ACLU Senior Staff Counsel for the National Prison Project Eric Balaban describes excited delirium as a "catch-all" diagnosis police and forensic pathologists use when police actions lead to death.
Unfortunately, that's not what juries hear when they are asked to examine cases of in-custody deaths. They're presented excited delirium as if it were science, not pseudo-science.
A Helena man died last week after being hit with a Taser twice during an altercation with police.
It's time for the medical and human rights communities to stand up and demand accountability.
