METAIRIE, La. — The Jefferson Parish Coroner has agreed to remove the controversial term 'excited delirium' from the death certificate he issued for a 16-year-old autistic teen who died in Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office custody in 2020.
The parents of Eric Parsa said they met with the JP Coroner, Dr. Gerry Cvitanovich, to ask that the term be taken off. It's controversial because it's almost always used to explain deaths in law enforcement custody.
The coroner initially ruled Parsa's death accidental, writing it was caused by "excited delirium from an acute psychotic episode" with obesity and prone positioning as contributing factors.
The meeting between the Parsas and the coroner comes after a series of investigative stories by WWL-TV and sister station KUSA in Denver on the use of the term.
Cvitanovich agreed to make the change to Parsa's death certificate, saying in a statement, "Since acute psychotic episode described the death well enough, we agreed to remove excited delirium."
Parsa's father, Daren, said he and his wife feel fortunate that Cvitanovich made the change. "We never thought that Eric died from excited delirium and this removal validates that. The Coroner reconfirmed the manner of death as accidental. He explained to us that homicide includes malicious intent or wanton disregard."
Louisiana state law, La. R.S. 14:29 defines homicide as "...the killing of a human being by the act, procurement, or culpable omission of another." Typically, police and prosecutors are the ones who investigate whether there was criminal intent involved, not coroners.
In their wrongful death lawsuit against Sheriff Joseph Lopinto, the JPSO, and Westgate Shopping Center, the Parsa family attorneys argued Eric's death was not caused by excited delirium but by deputies holding him prone, causing positional asphyxia, meaning Eric couldn't breathe and his heart stopped.
Last year, Jefferson Parish Coroner Gerry Cvitanovich declined to talk about the specifics of the Parsa case in an interview with WWL-TV. “Out of respect for the family, I'm not going to discuss the particulars of that case,” Cvitanovich said.
But William Most, one of the Parsa family attorneys, said the death classification and the lack of a formal internal affairs investigation resulting in a report by JPSO into how deputies handled the situation let the deputies off the hook.
Lopinto initially said homicide investigators conducted a complete and thorough criminal investigation and whether his deputies followed procedure would be flushed out by attorneys in the civil suit.
JPSO and the Westgate Shopping Center, where Parsa died, have since settled the lawsuit with the Parsa family for $1.25 million and the requirement that deputies get better training on how to handle people with autism.
The use of the "excited delirium" cause of death is highly controversial as medical groups and activists are moving away from it, arguing that nationally, it's often used to justify excessive use of force by law enforcement.
"Although our last images of Eric dying in the hands of law enforcement are with us every day, your sharing of Eric's story and your assistance in the removal of excited delirium from Eric's death certificate have truly helped in our healing process," Daren Parsa said.
Two states have outlawed the use of the term 'excited delirium' as a cause of death in recent months.
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