A human rights activist hailed the decision as a “watershed moment” that could make it harder for police to justify excessive force.

SACRAMENTO — California is the first state to ban doctors and medical examiners from attributing deaths to the controversial diagnosis known as “excited delirium,” which a human rights activist hailed as a “watershed moment” that could make it harder for police to justify excessive force.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Oct. 8 to prohibit coroners, medical examiners, physicians, or physician assistants from listing excited delirium on a person’s death certificate or in an autopsy report. Law enforcement won’t be allowed to use the term to describe a person’s behavior in any incident report, and testimony that refers to excited delirium won’t be allowed in civil court. The law takes effect in January.
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