The Maryland Attorney General's Office, through its Independent Investigations Division (IID), released the names of the officers and the victim involved in an in-custody death that occurred on June 24. The IID identified the decedent as Dontae Melton Jr., a 31-year-old resident of Baltimore. The officers involved are Sergeant Joshua Jackson, Officers Andre Smith, Gerard Pettiford, Jr., Jacob Dahl, Kevin Causion, Ever Cardenas-Huarcaya, Renardo Spencer, Jammal Parker, Darren Hicks, Jr., and Ryan Stetser, with varying years of service ranging from one to seventeen years. The IID is currently seeking further information and urges anyone with video or knowledge of the incident to contact them at 410-576-7070, as reported by FOX Baltimore.
The events leading up to the tragedy began when Melton Jr. approached an officer at a red light and subsequently entered the intersection of West Franklin Street and North Franklintown Road. As the situation developed, Melton Jr. was restrained and handcuffed for what authorities described as "his own safety."
The situation took a dire turn after calling for a medic when Melton Jr. became unresponsive, and, following a system failure in the city's computer-aided dispatch, known as CAD, an ambulance never arrived. The officers decided to transport Melton Jr. to the hospital in their vehicle, where he died approximately five and a half hours later. Details of the incident were compiled from an initial investigation conducted by the Attorney General's Office and shared by CBS News Baltimore.
