Excited Delirium, Ketamine, and Deaths in Police Custody

Abstract

and lacking clear criteria, has been used to explain fatalities of people in police custody, especially deaths of young Black men, and to exculpate police officers from responsibility. The label has also been invoked to justify the forceful restraint and sedation of people who may fail to obey the orders of law enforcement; ketamine, a dissociative anesthetic with potent sedative properties and a high rate of causing respiratory distress, is often used in these situations. This combination of a dubious diagnosis and a medication with serious side effects has set the stage for tragic outcomes.

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