SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California has made history. Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 360, outlawing what is known as "excited delirium." No other state has outlawed the term.
The controversial term has been around for decades but became widely known in the aftermath of George Floyd's death. Floyd was held down under police officers' body weight for over nine minutes.
Since Floyd's death in 2020, ABC10 and our sister station in Denver, KUSA, have partnered to investigate other deaths that have occurred while someone was detained by law enforcement. We found many of these cases have the cause of death classified not as asphyxiation but as "excited delirium."
Excited delirium can be marked by agitation, aggression and, on occasion, sudden death. But many leading medical organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the American Medical Association, do not recognize excited delirium as a condition.
The Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization, Physicians for Human Rights, called it "scientifically meaningless."
California Assembly member - and former law enforcement officer - Mike Gipson told ABC10 in a one-on-one interview about AB 360 that excited delirium is a way to justify aggressive law enforcement tactics.
"It is made up to cover up," Gipson said. "When you start invoking untruths or lies to cover up for what may have taken place, then you make a mockery out of our system - and also the science."
That's why he proposed a bill that prohibits excited delirium as being a valid medical diagnosis in California. Come Jan. 1, 2024, any California coroner or medical examiner can no longer use the term as a cause of death.
AB 360 also outlaws law enforcement from using the term in an incident report. And in a court of law, excited delirium is now considered "inadmissible."
The bill is the first in the nation, but Asm. Gipson hopes other states will follow.
"California leads the way," said Gipson.
AB 360 is especially significant to the family of Angelo Quinto. The 30-year-old died after Antioch police officers held him down with their body weight pressed into his back.
In a deep-diving investigation released in July 2023, ABC10 dug into Quinto's story and uncovered a number of concerning factors and elements related to his death.
During the interview, Angelo's mother, Cassandra Quinto-Collins said she wanted "Angelo's case to be the last excited delirium case."
While they'll never get Angelo back, upon the passage of the bill, their family is pleased change has occurred. They provided ABC10 with the following statement:
"We are tremendously pleased that Governor Newsom signed AB360 into law this weekend. This makes California the first state in the nation to ban the use of “excited delirium,” and other medically bogus terms, commonly used by coroners and law enforcement to cover up deaths involving tasers or excessive force. This bill had nearly unanimous, bipartisan support throughout the legislative process, and it marks an important step forward in increasing accountability and transparency surrounding law enforcement-related deaths. We remain incredibly grateful to Assembly Member Mike Gipson for his willingness to bring forth common-sense reform, to the many other impacted families, organizations, and courageous community members supporting legislation to reimagine policing in California, and for the state legislature in voting affirmatively in such overwhelming numbers."
