Baltimore police officers involved in in-custody death identified
Ten Baltimore police officers involved in a mental health crisis response that turned into an in-custody death have been identified by the Maryland Attorney General's Office.
On June 24, 31-year-old Dontae Melton Jr. was restrained and handcuffed by police after he approached an officer in a marked police car at a red light. Police said he then walked into the middle of the intersection of West Franklin Street and North Franklintown Road.
Investigators said Melton died after an ambulance never arrived, and he was driven to the hospital in a police vehicle.
The officers were identified as Sergeant Joshua Jackson (8 years), Officer Andre Smith (17 years), Officer Gerard Pettiford, Jr., (7 years), Officer Jacob Dahl (5 years), Officer Kevin Causion (5 years), Officer Ever Cardenas-Huarcaya (3 years), Officer Renardo Spencer (3 years), Officer Jammal Parker (2 years), Officer Darren Hicks, Jr. (2 years), and Officer Ryan Stetser (1 year).
Independent Investigations Division (IID) of the Maryland Office of the Attorney General says the officers were wearing body-worn cameras.
The police response
Investigators with the Office of Maryland's Attorney General said Melton approached an officer in a marked police vehicle at a red light. He had walked into the middle of the d.
Authorities said the officer attempted to restrain Melton "for his own safety."
Other officers soon arrived at the scene and placed him in handcuffs and leg restraints, according to the preliminary report.
They called for a medic. At some point, Melton became unresponsive.
No medic ever arrived, and police took Melton to the hospital in their vehicle, where he died almost 5 1/2 hours after he initially encountered the officer.
The city's computer-aided dispatch system, also known as CAD, went down during the crisis, according to a review of dispatch audio.
It is the main line of communication between police and fire.
Mother demands answers
Melton's mother spoke with WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren, saying she wants answers to why her son died and why there was no ambulance at the scene.
"I wake up every morning in pain, and it hurts because I don't sleep at night thinking about him being on the hot pavement by himself and people just around him discussing how we are going to get him to the hospital," his mother Eleshia Goode said.