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Families and disability advocates press Hawaii lawmakers to bar ‘excited delirium’ from official use
Summary
Testimony at the House Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs urged the legislature to amend two resolutions (HCR146/HR138) to prohibit use of 'excited delirium' and related terms in state practice. Family members recounted fatal encounters with police, advocates cited medical community withdrawals of the diagnosis, and some legal counsel requested explicit inclusion of alternate labels.
Supporters of two House resolutions seeking to limit official use of the phrase "excited delirium" told a House committee on April 7 that the term has been misused in police settings and can shield officers from accountability.
Verdell Hallick, speaking on Zoom about his son Sheldon Hallick, told the House Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs that Sheldon’s 2015 encounter with Honolulu police — during which officers used pepper spray, a Taser, and restraining techniques — led to his death. "The Honolulu Police Department defended their actions by blaming his death on excited delirium," Hallick said, and added that jurors at…
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