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| Your worst nightmare |
| By Sarah Etter, News Reporter |
| Published: 03/05/2007 |
Handling an incoming offender isn't always easy. But when that offender is intensely angry and has superhuman strength, officers might have more than just their hands full. They might have to deal with a case of excited delirium.
“Encountering someone who has excited delirium is your worst nightmare,” says Bill Lewinski, founder and director of the Force Science Research Institute, who has tracked ED cases for more than 20 years. “If you met one of these people in the street, it is your worst nightmare come to life. That's the only way I can describe it.” Excited delirium is a medical condition that has physical components, but does not have a diagnostic label, according to Lewinski. Those suffering from it have immense physical strength, little to no grasp on reality, and an elevated heart rate. Essentially, the human body is consumed in a total frenzy of emotions and physical accelerations. The stories from officers dealing with ED are almost as terrifying as actual episodes. “One law enforcement agency put a hole right through a guy's heart, because he was that out of control, and he continued to fight. He didn't know he was dead,” Lewinski recalls. “That's the kind of situation we're talking about here.” Recent studies show that the condition may be responsible for up to 125 in-custody deaths per year in the U.S. Researchers in Canada are delving into the issue as well. “There's very little research about ED that we can point to and say This is precisely what's taking place',” explains Chris Lawrence, a CO and partner with the Canadian Police Research Center who studies ED extensively. “These scenarios are like something out of a science fiction novel. These individuals injure themselves and those around them. You can't talk them into an ambulance. You can't talk them into doing anything. Once someone gets to the point of ED, they will not stop. The question becomes will they survive?” Many times, officials will attempt to restrain the afflicted person to prevent them from harming themselves or others. However, the task of getting them under control is tremendous, and it often takes a large number of personnel. And it's not always effective. “If you let them run around, they could drop dead,” Lawrence explains. “If you restrain them, they might die or hurt you. I've interviewed officers who were young and in shape who told me they've never dealt with anyone stronger than someone suffering from ED. It's a very real threat.” It isn't a stretch to say ED is a lose-lose situation for corrections and law enforcement. If an individual is not restrained, it's havoc for officers, but restraints can led to claims of excessive force and brutality and then be linked to an in-custody death. “Law enforcement and corrections can't do much for these people,” Lawrence adds. Even if you try to do the best you can to help them, you will still be criticized [by the public and the media] because there is no perfect technique for this situation.” There are conflicting suggestions about what to do with these offenders even if they are restrained. Some suggest using tranquilizers to calm the individual, but Lawrence warns that in some cases, that can react with the PH levels in their blood stream and lead to death. Restraining the individual could ultimately implicate staff if death does result. “If they can get them to the hospital and into the hands of a physician familiar with the problem most of the physiological problems that I've been able to find out about can be rectified in a hospital,” Lawrence adds. Videotaping restraint attempts and extensively documenting the incident will help agencies protect themselves. “You will have to explain what you did and why you did it,” explains Lewinski. “If you videotape the weirdness of what you had to deal with, and the extreme lengths you went to, you might facilitate an understanding. The problem with that is that any use of force generally looks bad.” Currently, researchers in Canada and the U.S. are trying to get to the bottom of what causes ED. Lawrence has a few theories based on his own work. “The most prominent drug linked to ED is cocaine,” he explains. “In my research, cocaine was involved with most of the deaths. The other big problem was schizophrenia. What's unique about these two causes is that there is a link. “When you use cocaine,” Lawrence continues, “part of the change in your brain level creates an excess amount of dopamine in your brain transmitters. One of the theories about schizophrenia is that it involves an excess level of dopamine. You can't tell if the difference between a person with ED resulting from cocaine use or schizophrenia. They look very much the same.” Lewinski has a similar theory. “There is a correlate with a genetic predisposition based on some preliminary research. It appears that there is a genetic predisposition, and it also appears [ED] was going on long before we had methamphetamines or cocaine. The primary medical history is with people who are emotionally disturbed or mentally ill,” he adds. Researchers are also looking into blood samples and brain tissue to find the cause of ED, but it is a long road because analysts like Lawrence are having trouble securing funding. “Part of the problem is that we don't know what is killing this group of people,” Lawrence says. “Science always wants to find the one thing that causes something. Everyone wants to be able to say that we've done everything we can, and X causes Y. The problem with ED is that it could be any of seven things and it could be one or many of those things. It could be a problem with PH of the blood, the heart rhythm, kidneys shutting down, genetics, or drugs or any combination of all of those factors.” Meanwhile, corrections agencies and law enforcement struggle to explain these strange in-custody deaths to communities. “I think it's going to take a long time to get the general community aware of this problem,” says Lewinski. “They need to understand that there is virtually nothing we can do for these people until we find out what causes this delirium.” Lawrence says we cannot afford to wait to talk about ED, even if there aren't any definite causes. “We need to broaden the understanding of ED.,” Lawrence says. “And the best time to talk about these issues is when we don't have a death on our hands.” Related Resources: Ten training tips for handling excited delirium article For more information on ED, contact Chris Lawrence |
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