Sarah Palmer, the 35-year old Hoquiam woman who died after a struggle with Hoquiam police Nov. 21 of last year, succumbed as a result of “sudden unexpected death due to excited delirium and schizophrenia, paranoid type,” Grays Harbor County Coroner Lane Youmans said Wednesday.
The determination was made by forensic pathologist Dr. Emmanuel Lascina, a Tacoma-area doctor certified in anatomic and clinical pathology. “The manner of death is natural,” said Youmans.
According to a report issued by Hoquiam Police Chief Jeff Myers shortly after the incident, two Hoquiam officers were dispatched to the 300 block of N Street and a group home catering to chronically mentally ill patients where Palmer and another female resident were having a physical altercation.
When officers arrived, Palmer and the 53-year-woman with whom she was fighting had been separated and the older woman was getting medical treatment. Palmer became combative, the report said, and both officers struggled with her throughout the residence, eventually deploying a Taser, which brought Palmer to the ground. She was handcuffed and became unresponsive shortly after, the report said. Paramedics treated Palmer at the scene before she was transported to Grays Harbor Community Hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Both officers were placed on leave for a short time as the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office was called in to conduct an investigation. The two officers were back on the job shortly after the incident and the investigation has been ongoing ever since. “Once we receive our official copy (of the coroner’s report), we will submit to the prosecutor’s office for review,” said Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office Chief Criminal Deputy Steve Shumate.
The determination of death due to excited delirium was arrived at after a physical autopsy, toxicology and other tests and an extensive check of Palmer’s history.
“The findings were based on her mental health record, (and) the reports I gathered and sent to the forensic pathologist,” said Youmans. “The forensic pathologist ran tox, and he did a complete autopsy to look for diseases or other factors that might have caused the death. The cause of death was based on the totality of all the tests.” Youmans did not specify what was found in toxicology tests as the Sheriff’s investigation is still ongoing, but said “there was nothing in there that would have contributed to the death.”
Several studies done by Canadian law enforcement, the FBI and medical experts such as Deborah C. Mash, PhD, a professor of neurology at the University of Miami, conclude the syndrome is real and can explain in-custody suspect deaths. The American Civil Liberties Union and other rights say the syndrome is an excuse to explain away deaths at the hands of law enforcement.
An FBI bulletin published in July of 2014 described excited delirium syndrome as “a serious and potentially deadly medical condition involving psychotic behavior, elevated temperature, and an extreme fight-or-flight response by the nervous system.” Mash, in an article entitled “Excited Delirium and Sudden Death: A Syndromal Disorder at the Extreme End of the Neuropsychiatric Continuum” published by “Frontiers in Physiology” in October of last year, said characteristic symptoms include “bizarre and aggressive behavior, shouting, paranoia, panic, violence toward others, unexpected physical strength, and hyperthermia.” According to the Hoquiam Police report issued after the Nov. 21 incident, Palmer exhibited several of those characteristic during her struggle with police.
Whether the use of a Taser contributed to Palmer’s death is still unclear. Details have been restricted due to the ongoing investigation. Mash is part of a group that operates the exciteddelirium.org website, which offers advice to law enforcement, medical personnel and others on how to deal with subjects displaying signs of the syndrome. On that site, listed as an excited delirium “fact” is the statement, (Excited delirium syndrome) “victims exhibit superhuman strength and are impervious to pain. Restraint positions and use of electronic control devices (TASER®) to override the (central nervous system)” are recommended for the safety of the victim and law enforcement and medical personnel.
The Seattle Police Department manual includes a section added in 2013 that reads, “This policy applies to the Department’s response to subjects who appear to be suffering from excited delirium. Excited delirium is defined as ‘A state of extreme mental and physiological excitement, characterized by extreme agitation, hyperthermia, hostility, exceptional strength and endurance without apparent fatigue.’” That policy states a sergeant and at least two officers will respond to each call involving a subject with excited delirium; officers will respond to the medical crisis immediately after the subject is under control and the scene is secure. The section offers a description of what a suspect may look and behave like when suffering the syndrome. There is no direct mention, however, of what type of force can be used in such an incident, including the use of Tasers.
