Minnesota Governor Tim Walz Signs Law Banning ‘Excited Delirium’ Training for Police Officers
MINNESOTA— Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has signed a law prohibiting “excited delirium” training for police officers. What is “excited delirium” and what will this ban accomplish?
‘Excited delirium’ is not a true medical diagnosis. It is often used as a catch-all descriptor for subjects displaying extreme agitation, paranoia, aggression, and excitability.
The term ‘excited delirium’ was popularized in 1985, when it was used to characterize the behaviors of seven people who died while on cocaine. Five of those people were in police custody at the time of their death.
It continues to be used to justify police brutality and deaths that occur following the use of police tactics such as the controversial holds utilized to subdue and detain people during arrests.
‘Excited delirium’ is regularly the cause of death that police departments choose for people who die during interactions with law enforcement. Unsurprisingly, the people labeled as suffering from ‘excited delirium’ have disproportionately been Black men– including George Floyd and Elijah McCain, both of whom died during arrests in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
In recent years, the term has been scrutinized, and even publicly opposed by many of the largest medical associations, including (but not limited to); The American Medical Association, The American Psychiatric Association, The American Academy of Emergency Medicine, The National Association of Medical Examiner, The American College of Medical Toxicology, and The American College of Emergency Physicians.
The American Medical Association called ‘excited delirium’ “a manifestation of systemic racism” in 2021 when it released a statement opposing the “diagnosis.”
A report released by Physicians for Human Rights in 2022 detailed that Black men receive an excited delirium “diagnosis” at a significantly higher rate than white men. The report also noted that Black men labeled with excited delirium have a higher mortality rate than their white counterparts—most of those deaths occurring in police custody.
Late last month, one day after Gov. Walz signed it, the bill went into law throughout Minnesota. The state follows California and Colorado— Elijah McClain’s home— in banning such training.
In Minneapolis, Mayor Jacob Frey claimed he directed his staff to cease training on ‘excited delirium’ several years ago. However, an investigation by the Star Tribune uncovered training videos from 2021 in which the “diagnosis” was still being taught.
Lawmakers, including the bill’s author, Rep. Jessica Hanson, DFL-Burnsville, were glad to see it signed into law. During a recent committee hearing, Hanson stated that ‘excited delirium’ was "rooted in anti-Black racism.”
She continued, "It has no basis in science, no functional meaning in medicine and no clear diagnostic criteria nor symptomatology.”
Several states currently have similar bills working their way through the legislature. Opponents of ‘excited delirium’ training are excited to finally see it wiped from police manuals, albeit, years after the medical community denounced the practice.
