Farias

PROVIDENCE — An East Providence man died in police custody in late February because of “sudden death complicating Excited Delirium Syndrome due to chronic schizophrenia,” the state medical examiner’s office said yesterday.

“Excited Delirium Syndrome is a life-threatening medical condition characterized by acute delirium due to, in Mr. [Leonel] Farias’ case, schizophrenia,” said Helen Drew, spokeswoman for the state Health Department, which includes the medical examiner’s office.

When asked whether the medical examiner found any physical explanation for why Farias died, Drew said, “He died by the reasons we described in the release.”

Dr. Michael G. Conner, an Oregon psychologist who testifies in court cases nationally as an expert on excited delirium, said in a telephone interview that with this type of delirium, the person becomes “combative and/or extremely agitated” and the cause of death is often physical exertion and a rapid heart rate that causes the heart to stop beating.

Conner said there are hundreds of deaths a year due to excited delirium while the police are restraining a person. But the unusual finding has not been listed as a cause of death in Rhode Island “in the last two years at least,” Drew said.

The ruling on the cause of death for Farias, of James Street, drew immediate denunciations from the state mental health advocate and the executive director of the Rhode Island Affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union.

The ACLU’s Steven Brown called the explanation as “clear as mud” and said it never answers the question of what physically happened to Farias.

“Read between the lines,” said H. Reed Cosper, the mental health advocate, “it’s the state medical examiner’s way of saying these cops killed him because he was mentally ill.

“That’s what that means. Mr. Farias didn’t figure out clearly enough or soon enough that he had to be humiliated and he was beaten and died because of this lack of knowledge.”

Cosper said Mark D. Jackson, a Warwick resident, died in West Warwick last week because he, too, didn’t respond appropriately to the police tactic.

In the Farias incident, the East Providence police had been called to the family’s house at 153 James St. by Farias’ father after his son had an outburst on Feb. 27.

Farias, a diagnosed schizophrenic, was outside the house waving a steak knife when the police arrived. Officers used a chemical spray and struck Farias to try to take him into custody, but Farias continued to struggle even after being handcuffed and pinned to the pavement. Farias lost consciousness and was taken to Rhode Island Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Farias’ family has alleged that the police used excessive force and caused Farias’ death by beating and kicking him.

“I would like to reiterate that we have full confidence in our police officers’ actions that occurred during this incident and the training that they relied on,” East Providence Police Chief Hubert J. Paquette said in a news release yesterday. “I still believe that our officers exercised great restraint with the level of force that they used.”

He also said the department still has an officer, who Paquette did not name, recovering from surgery for an injury she received during the incident. The chief said his department “respects the findings of the medical examiner” and referred all questions regarding the case to the state attorney general’s office.

The office of Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch wouldn’t comment “because this case is still under investigation.”

In West Warwick last week, Jackson died after officers responded to a report that someone was damaging a sign in front of a liquor store. The police found him walking behind the store and when he didn’t comply with police requests, the department says Jackson became “combative.”

The officers struck Jackson with batons on his legs, said the police, but witnesses say Jackson received “elbow jabs to the ribs” and a knee to the face. The medical examiner will conduct an autopsy in his case.

As for the finding in Farias’ death, “This is about as convoluted a definition as I’ve ever seen,” Brown said. “This explanation raises a lot more questions than answers…. People don’t die just because they’re schizophrenic and that’s what this news release suggests.”

Conner, who is currently testifying in federal court regarding a Virginia case, said people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, a history of stimulant drug abuse or a weak heart are “more at risk of dying” when they are in an excited delirium state.

He said the police are usually called because the person is in delirium — which he described as a disturbance in a person’s consciousness and ability to speak — and they are “almost always disorganized and disoriented.” Excited delirium adds combative and extremely agitated to the symptoms.

Conner also said the person can speak in gibberish one minute and be “normal” minutes later. He said those on drugs, psychotic or otherwise, can be “incredibly strong” and while the police try to restrain them, the person often gets a rapid heart rate from the physical exertion used during the struggle or while trying to breathe on his or her stomach. He said the person’s heart stops usually within a few minutes after the altercation.

Connor added those who die with excited delirium tend to also be overweight. Farias was listed as weighing more than 300 pounds.

“Delirium can be treated in a medical setting,” Conner also said. “The trouble is you have to get them there alive.”

In addition, he said many cities and towns, such as Las Vegas and his hometown of Bend, Ore., make it mandatory for police officers to be trained about excited delirium. He said free videos are available online for departments to use as well.

“The police picked on a fragile person and he died because of it,” Cosper said in the cases of Farias and Jackson. “The police will never come to this conclusion and it will keep happening until they do.”

apina@projo.com