Police in England and Wales barred from blaming restraint deaths on ‘excited delirium’
source: The Guardian
originally published: 20 April 2024
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4WardEverUK is republishing this article as affirmation that the police watchdog for England and Wales removed this controversial 'medical' term from its incident forms in 2024.
The police watchdog for England and Wales has removed a controversial medical term from its incident forms after claims it plays into racist stereotypes and detracts attention from police brutality.
Until now, police forces referring a death or serious incident to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) have been given the option to tick “excited delirium” in a list of relevant factors.
The term has historically been used to describe people who are agitated or acting bizarrely, usually because of mental illness, drug use or both. Symptoms are said to include insensitivity to pain, aggression, increased strength and elevated heart rate.
But it is not a recognised medical condition, is rooted in pseudoscience and has been criticised for playing into racial tropes about superhuman strength, which campaigners say can lead to increased use of police force.
In 2021, excited delirium was mentioned in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former US police officer found guilty of the murder of George Floyd. Police officers discussed whether Floyd might have excited delirium as they restrained him. It has also come up in police restraint cases in Britain.
Last month, an Observer investigation found excited delirium and the alternative term “acute behavioural disturbance”, as it is now more commonly known in Britain, had been cited as a cause of death, or a contributing factor, in IOPC reports and inquests in at least 44 police restraint death cases since 2005.
Related News:
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As foundation for ‘excited delirium’ diagnosis cracks, fallout spreads
13 December 2013
Ongoing issues with the diagnosis of excited delirium
3 August 2017
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