Report: Thousands Of Suspects In Baltimore Arrests Required Medical Attention

The mysterious death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray, who was denied medical attention and died from a severe spinal injury while in police custody, has led many to question how often suspects obtain injuries from their encounters with police officers, and how many of them receive proper medical care.

The Baltimore Sun reported that according to records obtained through a Maryland Public Information Act request, the Baltimore City Detention Center has “refused to admit nearly 2,600 detainees who were in police custody” between June 2012 and April 2015, with intake officers citing injuries such as “fractured bones, facial trauma and hypertension.”

While the records obtained by the Sun redacted the names of the detainees, the report used the story of Salahudeen Abdul-Aziz as an example of what many suspects endure. Abdul-Aziz was denied entry to Baltimore’s detention center after he was brought in by police with a broken nose, a fractured face and other injuries. He went to court, on the claim that he had been beaten by police and then arrested, and he was awarded $170,000 by a jury in 2011.

In Gray’s case, he was arrested on April 12, after he made eye contact with Baltimore Police Lieutenant Brian Rice, and then took off running. Rice, who had been suspended from the Baltimore Police Department and had his guns confiscated twice for mental health issues and for reported stalking, harassment and threats of violence, pursued Gray and arrested him, claiming that he was carrying an illegal knife.

Both a picture of the knife Gray was carrying, and an explanation behind the cause of the severe spinal injury that led to his death on April 19, have yet to be made public.

State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced on May 1 that the knife Gray was carrying was legal, that Gray was arrested illegally, and his death was ultimately ruled a homicide. Six officers have been charged for Gray’s death and they were all released on bonds ranging from $250,000 to $350,000 the same day.

Gray, who was healthy prior to his arrest, is suspected to have severed his spine during the 45 minutes he spent in a police transport van, which made four stops on its way to the jail. According to Mosby, at least five of Gray’s requests for medical attention were not answered by officers.

The Baltimore Sun reported that after investigating over 100 lawsuits against Baltimore city police officers, where the city “paid more than $6 million in court judgments and settlements,” it found that “dozens of residents accused police of inflicting severe injuries during questionable arrests and disregarding appeals for medical attention.”

While some criminologists and law enforcement experts say that suspects often fake injuries to avoid being put in a jail cell, the Sun noted that they also say Gray’s death “shows that police lack adequate training to detect injuries.”

A. Dwight Pettit, an attorney who has sued many Baltimore officers over the last 40 years, told the Baltimore Sun the data proves that the officers don’t really care about their public.

“It goes to demonstrate the callous indifference the officers show when they are involved with the public,” said Pettit. “Why would they render medical care when they rendered many of the injuries on the people?”

On Wednesday, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announced that she has asked the Department of Justice to investigate the city’s police force for the practices of excessive use of force and civil rights violations.

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"The curriculum has been generally the same for the past 20-30 years at the [police] academy," said Hamin Shabazz, chair of the Department of Criminal Justice at Stevenson University and a former police officer in Camden, N.J, He served on the panel that reviewed the death of Tyrone West, who died from a heart condition made worse by a struggle with officers during a traffic stop amid summer heat in 2012.

Officers, Shabazz said, "do get some in-service training, but what happens is training is usually reactive, after something has happened."

The Sun's examination of more than 100 lawsuits against officers — in which the city paid more than $6 million in court judgments and settlements — found that dozens of residents accused police of inflicting severe injuries during questionable arrests and disregarding appeals for medical attention.

Such problems have damaged relations between police and residents, according to officials and community leaders. On Friday, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced a broad civil rights investigation into the police department, a move designed to address the "serious erosion of public trust."

Baltimore police did not respond to several requests for comment.

Experts say it's unknown how often officers deny medical care for suspects, who are constitutionally guaranteed health care before being booked into jail. That denial can cause discomfort or worsen a condition — and lead to death, as prosecutors allege in the case of Gray, who had a severed spine.

Freddie Gray not the first to come out of Baltimore police van with serious injuries
Authorities have not conclusively determined how Gray was injured though they suspect he was hurt riding in the transport van. Prosecutors allege his hands and feet were cuffed, and he wasn't wearing a seat belt, a violation of police department policy. Police policy also requires officers to obtain medical help when suspects request it.

Police task force members who investigated the case believed that Gray suffered a "catastrophic injury" while being taken from the arrest at Gilmor Homes to the Western District police station. They also discovered that one of the officers said Gray had "jailitis" — a faked illness — after he complained about his condition.

In announcing criminal charges against the officers, Mosby said at least five of Gray's requests for medical care were ignored.

After arriving at Central Booking, detainees are examined by intake nurses to determine whether they are stable enough for the four- to five-hour booking process, said Gerard Shields, spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. If someone is rejected, the responsibility falls on police to get medical care, he added.

"The police are not medical personnel and may not be aware of the severity or presence of all injuries," Shields said. "Our protocol is to assess all detainees at the door to see if they can medically withstand the booking process. We are able to treat many injuries on site so these are determined on a case by case basis. If we can treat them, we will."

Detainees rejected by intake officers represent about 2 percent of total bookings into the jail during from June 2012 through April.

The scrutiny applied before booking suspects also helps the jail control operating costs. Once a suspect is admitted to the jail, medical costs fall on that agency.

Some experts said that the criminal charges resulting from Gray's death could spur more officers to quickly call paramedics — whether an injury is visible or not.

"As part of the state's attorney's case, the officers were accused of misconduct in office," said Charles J. Key, a former Baltimore police lieutenant who now consults on use of force cases. "They didn't call for an ambulance ... other officers would have to be fools not to call for an ambulance."

Officers run into problems in deciding whether an injury is legitimate or fake, Key said. While in the police academy, recruits complete some first-responder training, but eventually it comes down to an officer's judgment about whether to seek medical help, he added.

"If they observe an injury like a compound fracture with bone through the skin ... or there is a condition, like a heart attack, they are supposed to call for assistance," Key said.

The 45-minute mystery of Freddie Gray's death
Some cities are providing more training for police officers, and one model showing promise is Crisis Intervention Team training, which helps officers identify people with mental health issues and de-escalate situations, said Jim Parsons, vice president and research director of the Vera Institute of Justice, a nonprofit research and advisory group.

In New York, where officers have also been scrutinized for mistreating people in custody, there is a new emphasis on quickly getting better medical and mental health treatment.

Part of the program calls for additional medical screenings for those entering the correctional system, to ensure illnesses and injuries are spotted and treated sooner, said Parsons, who is working with the New York system.

That may save resources, as Parsons said many New York officers had begun overcompensating by taking so many people to the emergency room that a large percentage received no treatment.

New York police also will begin diverting some people committing minor crimes from jails to treatment centers. A recent task force report found about 40 percent of those in city jails had a mental health issue and 85 percent had a substance abuse disorder.

"It'll still be a balance," Parsons said. "We want to transfer people to the hospital when they have real health need. Even with training that can be difficult."

The Sun investigation found a number of cases like that of Abdul-Aziz, who was arrested but later had charges dropped. The city paid tens of thousands of dollars to suspects who had told officers about injuries or pre-existing conditions, but did not receive prompt treatment.

The Darkroom: Gray in Black & White
John Bonkowski, who received a $75,000 settlement over allegations that he was beaten by an officer in 2012, "complained of pain at the scene but was denied medical treatment," according to his lawsuit. He was held without treatment at the Central District Station for about three hours before being taken by ambulance to a hospital where doctors found he had a fractured ankle, a broken jaw and cuts on his head and face, the lawsuit said.

Bonkowski, who had driven his car while intoxicated through a gate in a downtown parking garage, accused officers of pulling him out of a car and pummeling him with their fists and batons. Officers contended that Bonkowski crashed into another car and hit an officer.

Starr Brown, an East Baltimore accountant, called police to report a group of teenagers beating a girl in 2009, but wound up facing criminal charges herself. In fighting those charges, Brown and neighbors testified that officers were told she was pregnant as they pulled her off a porch.

At the trial, Brown testified that the officers ignored her pleas about the pregnancy. "They said they hear it all the time," Brown told the judge, adding that officers then threw her to the ground and rammed a knee in her back. Charges against Brown were dismissed and she received $125,000 in a 2011 settlement.

In such settlements, the officers and city do not acknowledge liability for the injuries.

Bryan A. Levitt, who has represented plaintiffs in such lawsuits, said Baltimore's mayor and police commissioner frequently go before cameras to tout reforms, but nothing has improved the relationship between officers and residents.

In Baltimore and other cities, police have used 'rough rides' as payback in the past
"Policing is such a sad state of affairs," he said. "Nobody is held accountable."

Dr. Thomas A Tallman, medical director for the MetroHealth Correctional Health Program in the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Department, which includes Cleveland, said police in that city are fairly accurate in assessing emergencies.

"It's not frequently someone shows up right out of a police car and needs to go to the hospital," Tallman said. "Though it does happen."

Inmates are good at faking injuries and often refuse to provide important details, which can mean "there is really nothing wrong or something bad is going to happen," Tallman said. He stressed that it's not up to an officer to make the determination about medical care, and that alcohol and drugs often play a role in the situation.

For example, he said, if a handcuffed suspect in the back of a police cruiser complains of chest pains, the person needs to be screened in an emergency room.

"A lot of officers know quickly they are getting into an area they are not comfortable with," Tallman said. "They know they are not equipped to evaluate chest pains."

In December, the Department of Justice completed a civil rights investigation of the Cleveland Division of Police. The scathing report said police had a pattern of "unreasonable and unnecessary use of force" on suspects. The findings came not long after after a rookie officer shot Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old African-American child.

Mayor Frank G. Jackson requested the federal investigation — the same move Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake made last week.

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Dave70968 said:

No comments at all?

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yukonjack said:

I don't care. Be accused of the crime, suffer the consequences.

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