DENVER — Aspiring law enforcement officers in Colorado will no longer receive state-mandated “excited delirium” training after a unanimous vote by the board that sets the standards for officers all over the state.
Friday’s vote by the Colorado Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) board comes months after a 9NEWS ORIGINALS investigation that first brought the issue to the attention of state leaders.
State Representative Judy Amabile (D-Boulder) called the POST mandate “bullsh-t” in July and vowed to change the curriculum if POST failed to act.
Friday’s decision wipes the term “excited delirium” from the POST manual that dictates minimum standards and training requirements in all law enforcement academies.
An ongoing 9NEWS investigation has tied more than 225 deaths across the U.S. to use of the term. The list includes numerous Colorado deaths including Elijah McClain. Believing McClain had “excited delirium” in 2019, a paramedic injected him with ketamine following Aurora Police restraint.
Moments later, McClain stopped breathing.
Our analysis of the more than 225 deaths indicates all but seven happened during or after restraint, law enforcement involvement, or both.
Critics say that’s precisely what undermines the legitimacy of the term. It’s often used to explain why people suddenly die after law enforcement restraint.
Excited delirium, to believers, is a dangerous medical condition marked by superhuman strength, imperviousness to pain and severe agitation.
For decades, law enforcement officers across the country have been told – and warned – to look out for it.
But in recent years, the term itself has fallen out of favor. The American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association roundly criticized use of the term in recent years.
This year, both the National Association of Medical Examiners and the American College of Emergency Physicians dropped any endorsement – perceived or otherwise – of the term as well.
Currently, no major medical organization recognizes it as a potentially fatal medical condition.
Rep. Amabile told 9NEWS Friday she still intends to introduce legislation early next year that would prohibit use of the term in other documents – things like autopsy and police reports.
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