Latest news with #DontaeMeltonJr
CBS News
31-07-2025
- CBS News
Mother waits for answers 5 weeks after son's death in Baltimore police custody
More than five weeks since Dontae Melton Jr died in Baltimore police custody, his family says they have received little information, with investigators delaying the release of body-camera footage. Melton's mother, Eleshiea Goode, feels she is being left in the dark, unable to get key records. "My heart breaks every single day for my son because he deserves dignity. He should be here right now, and after all this time, we still don't know what happened," Goode said. "Something is not adding up to me at all." The Maryland Attorney General's Office delayed the release of body camera video of the 10 officers it has named as involved in the case. "That part alone, that 10 officers responded—I need to understand what was going on that it required the response of ten Baltimore City police officers," Goode said. The encounter began on June 24 when Melton asked an officer for help during a mental health crisis. He was later restrained by Baltimore Police, according to the initial report by the Maryland Attorney General's Independent Investigations Division (IID). The report said it was for his own safety because he was going in and out of traffic at West Franklin Street and North Franklintown Road. Because of a problem with the city's communication system, a medic never came, and officers transported Melton to a hospital in their police vehicle. The IID said it needed more time "due to the technical complexity and volume of officer recordings involved." There are now "Justice for Dontae Melton, Jr." Facebook and Instagram pages dedicated to bringing attention to the case. "I'm not asking for anything extraordinary, right? I'm not asking for special treatment," Goode said. "I'm not asking for anything that they're not supposed to do. I'm just asking to find out what happened to my son." Goode shared a picture of the shirt her son was wearing before he died with the phrase, "We are all human." "It's been five weeks, and I need answers that every parent deserves when their child does not come home," Goode said. WJZ reached out to the Attorney General's Office on Thursday. They had no new updates to report and referred WJZ to last week's statement about the body camera video. Melton's mother has also reached out to her city councilman, who told her he was also seeking answers. Goode shared with WJZ Investigates a recent denial of records letter she received from the medical examiner's office. "The OCME has determined that we are not the Custodian of Record for the items requested, as positive identification and notification of next of kin are conducted by the responding law enforcement agency; therefore, there are no records responsive to your request," thel etter said. Goode also said the hospital where she was told her son was treated has no record of it. "I'm reaching out, but I just keep hitting roadblocks—one after the other," Goode said. "It's very, very frustrating because I still don't know what happened."
CBS News
19-07-2025
- CBS News
Concerns over mental health crisis response after two deaths in Baltimore by police encounters
Two Baltimore families are grieving after their loved ones died following encounters with police. Loved ones of Pytorcarcha Brooks held her funeral Friday, and the Maryland attorney general's office has now identified 31-year-old Dontae Melton Jr. as the man who died in police custody more than three weeks ago. A community association president has expressed serious concerns about the response to people having a mental health crisis. WJZ spoke to Janet Bailey, the president of Laburt Improvement Community Association, as she headed to the funeral of 70-year-old Pytorcarcha Brooks. On June 25th, police went into Brooks' home, tased, then shot and killed her, according to authorities. They said she posed a threat with a knife. Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said Brooks pulled a knife, disregarded police commands, and attacked officers with the weapon. Worley said officers tried to use a Taser on Brooks, but it was ineffective, and she kept advancing toward them with the knife. According to police, one officer fell, and Brooks charged at him with the knife, prompting another officer to fire two shots at her. Brooks was pronounced dead at a hospital. "I cried knowing this woman had been struggling with mental illness for a long time—and the way she died. The way she died! It didn't have to be like that," Bailey said. "70 years old. It just didn't." They had been called to that home at least 20 times in the months before that deadly encounter. "We need a team out here who can go in and talk to the people who have these issues. That's what we need. Not somebody who is going to shoot them, but somebody who can talk to them and talk them down from wherever they're at," Bailey said. "I thought that's what it was supposed to be after the consent decree and the Freddie Gray and all this. What happened? Somebody dropped the ball somewhere down the line, and now, here up in West Baltimore, we are paying the cost." She told the members of the Public Safety Committee, "I still can't see how you justify Ms. Brooks and Mr. Melton being killed in West Baltimore." "This incident is particularly painful because the individual involved was clearly experiencing a behavioral health crisis. We have taken significant steps to strengthen our behavioral health response system and 911 diversion program in the city of Baltimore with the goal of sending the most appropriate response to a situation, not just the fastest or most familiar," Mayor Brandon Scott said after the release of the body camera videos. "We have made real progress on this front and seen the positive impact in the lives of those we serve. But we know there is more to do. Incidents like this strengthen my commitment to building systems that can manage the volume of crisis calls we receive with the intentionality, care, and urgency our residents deserve." The mayor also said, "Unfortunately, not every call can be handled by crisis response teams, especially when there are threats of violence or reasonable concerns for safety. That being said, significant questions remain about the sequence of events that took place in this incident and decisions that were made. As the investigation unfolds, we will evaluate every piece of this incident to identify whether changes need to be made to ensure an outcome like this never happens again. I will be in constant contact with Commissioner Worley as that process unfolds." WJZ Investigates has extensively covered the case of Dontae Melton Jr. Police restrained him, the attorney general's office said, for his own safety at West Franklin Street and North Franklintown Road on June 24th. Because of a reported failure with the city's communication system, a medic never came. "My plea is for the people who are in charge of these systems to get it right. My plea is that another family will never have to endure this kind of pain," Melton's mother Eleshiea Goode told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren. "To know that my son died alone when he had so many family and friends, and everybody who had been there in a second had we known." After 23 days, the attorney general's office released the names of ten officers in the case. The body-worn camera videos have yet to be released. "They're slow walking this thing. They're slow walking," Bailey said. "They're hoping to sweep this under the rug, and you'll forget it. We won't forget." The attorney general's office said they have 20 business days to release the body camera video. They said that release can be delayed for various reasons, including if they need more time for the investigation. The Baltimore police union Friday criticized the release of the officers' names. "The recent release of the names of officers involved in the Dontae Melton Jr. case sets a dangerous precedent with far-reaching consequences. This was not a dynamic incident like a police officer involved shooting or similar incident," FOP3 President Mike Mancuso said in a statement posted to X. "This incident is all on body worn camera! This is clearly a mental health incident where the police officers pleaded for help from other city agencies, and that help never came. If AG Brown felt the need to release names in an obvious mental health case, why not release the names of all involved in the breakdown of services from the beginning all the way to the hospital staff? Weren't they all involved in this incident? Singling out only the officers suggests that this is unbalanced and is politically motivated." The attorney general's Independent Investigations Division "continues to investigate the circumstances of the police-involved, in-custody death," AG Anthony Brown's office said. "Anyone with information about this incident, including cell phone or private surveillance video, is asked to contact the IID at (410) 576-7070."
CBS News
18-07-2025
- CBS News
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. 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 intersection of West Franklin Street and North Franklintown Road. 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. 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.
