Colorado strikes “excited delirium” from all law enforcement diagnosis, training documents

Colorado’s law enforcement officers will no longer recognize “excited delirium” after a state regulatory board voted to strike the controversial diagnosis on Friday from all training documents starting in January.

The move, which was passed at the state Peace Officers Standards and Training board meeting unanimously and without debate, comes as two Aurora paramedics face felony charges for giving Elijah McClain, an unarmed, innocent Black man, an overdose of ketamine, in part, because they believed he was suffering from the condition.

Advocates have long been critical of the diagnosis, which was mostly a law enforcement term used to characterize suspects acting hyperactive or agitated during police encounters.