Maryland Attorney General investigates death of man in custody of Baltimore's first responders
BALTIMORE -- The Independent Investigation Division of the Office of the Maryland Attorney General has opened an investigation into the actions of law enforcement officers in Baltimore after a man died in the custody of first responders on Tuesday, according to state authorities.
The man was reportedly in the middle of the 200 block of South Howard Street trying to kill himself and allegedly fighting people around 4:20 p.m. that day, state authorities said.
That's where Baltimore Police officers and Maryland Transit Administration officers found him after receiving a 911 call about the man, state authorities said.
An initial review of body-worn camera footage shows that the MTA officers and medical personnel were the first to arrive at the scene and Baltimore Police officers were last, according to state officials.
The camera footage shows MTA officers speaking with the man as he is acting erratically, state officials said.
Officers physically restrained the man, placed him in handcuffs, and placed him on his side on an ambulance stretcher, according to state officials.
Emergency medical personnel and the officers on scene secured a man to a stretcher using the stretcher's restraint straps, state officials said.
The man was placed inside the ambulance with emergency personnel who began administering medical aid to him, according to state officials.
After several minutes, the man became unresponsive, state officials said. An officer removed his handcuffs while medical personnel began taking emergency measures, state officials said.
Medics took the man to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead a few hours later. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of the man's death, according to state officials.
Although the body-worn cameras of Baltimore Police officers were active when the man allegedly tried to kill himself, Maryland Transit Administration Police officers, who are not equipped with body-worn cameras, did not have camera footage to share, state officials said.
The video footage of the incident may be released in accordance with Baltimore Police Department and Independent Investigations Division policies, according to state officials.
State law dictates that the Independent Investigations Division of the Attorney General's Office can investigate the actions of law enforcement officers, but not the actions of emergency medical personnel, state officials said.
That state law requires the Office of the Maryland Attorney General to investigate all police-involved fatalities in the State of Maryland. The investigations are conducted in conjunction with the Maryland State Police.
