St. Charles police study up on delirium syndrome

It's a scenario we've all heard about at one time or another: A drug abuser is out of control in public and exhibiting signs of superhuman strength with no sense of pain or fatigue. Police wrestle with the suspect, but he continues to fight them off, and his behavior becomes increasingly violent and bizarre.

The situation probably is a case of excited delirium syndrome, a condition that experts say is often brought on by a mix of drugs and mental illness, and one police officers must handle delicately.

"It's actually a medical response," said David Kintz, deputy chief of the St. Charles Police Department. "You have to get this guy to the hospital for medical treatment."

Last month, Kintz and his fellow officers, along with local paramedics, took training to learn new standards for dealing with these situations.

In the past, he said, these cases usually resulted in several officers restraining a suspect until his hands and feet could be cuffed. But research now suggests such methods can lead to positional asphyxiation, and there have been cases where unarmed suspects died with police taking the blame.

Kintz said the new strategy is to bring the suspect under control with minimal physical force, often using a Taser, or by holding down his limbs only - and involve paramedics as quickly as possible.

"First and foremost is just getting the person under control so they (paramedics) can treat the person," Kintz said. "The idea is to actually sedate them in the field so they start to calm down and you can start making your diagnosis. We have to be very conscious of how we take someone like this into custody."

Warning signs: Symptoms of excited delirium syndrome include extreme agitation, paranoia, disorientation and "believe it or not, nakedness," according to Kintz.

"Their core body temperature is at such an elevated rate that they're trying to cool down by taking off their clothes," he said.

Kintz said there have been no recent examples of excited delirium syndrome in St. Charles, but officers have gone through old records and found several cases that involved similar circumstances.

Janes seeks election: Kane County Associate Judge Robert L. Janes last week became the first to announce his candidacy for one of four new judgeships opening next year in the 16th Judicial Circuit.

Janes, a 32-year resident of St. Charles, said he plans to run for circuit judge in the Republican primary on Feb. 2.

A former prosecutor, public defender and private attorney, Janes is a 1974 graduate of DePaul University College of Law. He currently presides over child support, divorce, paternity and order-of-protection matters in family court.

Jones also is a longtime community volunteer, serving as a youth soccer and baseball coach in the Tri-Cities, as well as on the St. Edward High School Booster Club board.