In reporting another new study of excited delirium, researcher Dr. Darrell Ross offers additional insights for improving the safety of officers and subjects alike in these fraught confrontations. The goal is not to train or expect officers to make clinical diagnoses in the field as psychiatric experts, Ross says. “But providing them with research findings...Read More
Among the most tragic officer-involved shootings is this scenario: A distraught family member calls 911 because a loved one seems hell-bent on killing himself and can’t be dissuaded. The desperate hope is that the police can successfully intervene. But on scene, officers prove as unpersuasive as everyone else. As the contact evolves, with officers groping...Read More
In an after-action report on a major terrorist attack on American soil, a team of medical professionals claims that first-responder agencies are not keeping pace with current terrorist methods in terms of their Tactical Medical Care preparedness. The present prevailing approach to training and equipment “emphasizes the need for hemorrhage control [for handgun wounds] but...Read More
A unique mental health assessment form that can help officers better communicate with medical personnel and may contribute to reduced wait times in hospital emergency rooms is becoming more widely used now after successful pilot studies. The simple, one-page checklist of various “mental state indicators and behaviors” is designed to give street officers and hospital...Read More
With the symptoms and dangers of excited delirium now well-publicized and solidly confirmed by numerous research studies, agencies that fail to have a response protocol in place are inviting needless liability problems, according to a day-long presentation recently at a training seminar sponsored by the Illinois Tactical Officers Assn. “Usually administrators start to take notice...Read More
An international panel of experts, including 2 MDs involved in Force Science training, has recommended a 4-step protocol as offering the best hope for a successful outcome when dealing with suspected cases of excited delirium. Already in use by some progressive departments in the US and Canada, the endorsed procedures should serve as “models for...Read More
Trainer Ron Borsch, an early advocate of immediate entry into active-killer scenes by the first responding officer, reports the latest statistics in support of his tactical position. As we’ve noted previously [Force Science News 05/09/2008 and Force Science News 05/08/2009], Borsch, manager and lead trainer at the Southeast Area Law Enforcement (SEALE) regional in-service academy...Read More
Surprising preliminary results from a survey about responses to downed-officer rescues suggest it may be more practical to modify training and equipment related to this high-intensity field challenge than to try changing officers’ instinctive responses. “Officers appear to view risk in this situation very differently than would be predicted based on studies of risk in...Read More
Over the last 6 months, Dr. Matthew Sztajnkrycer, a “SWAT doc” from Minnesota, has exposed some 150 officers to this stressful and revealing training exercise: A patrol officer, answering a domestic violence call, is shot down as he exits his unit. Officers responding to 911 calls from the scene observe him slumped in a seated...Read More
Looking for guidance on a protocol for Excited Delirium calls? A recently updated training bulletin from San Jose (CA) PD might be a good starting point. “It’s the closest thing to a policy on the subject that I’ve been able to find,” says Wayne Schmidt, executive director of Americans for Effective Law Enforcement, the organization...Read More