>> sheneen mcclain: when i hear him on that tape, i hear him completely sane-- completely in his rights right mind up until the time he passed out. >> dickerson: elijah mcclain's case is not an isolated one. a 2018 review of 66 studies and articles referencing excited delirium found it was cited in more than 10% of deaths in police custody. though it is supported by some in law enforcement and emergency medicine, it is not recognized by the american medical association, the world health organization or the american psychiatric association. paul appelbaum, who oversees changes to psychiatry's main diagnostic manual, says excited delirium is bad science, based on faulty studies that grew out of the 1980s cocaine epidemic. >> dr. paul applebaum: "excited delirium" is a perplexing term from my perspective. >> dickerson: perplexing, why? >> dr. applebaum: it doesn't correspondent to any discreet reality out there in the world. >> dickerson: so it's a catch- all phrase? >> dr. applebaum: it's a wastebasket phrase. it also had utility for the police, since so many of the early cases, and some