Baltimore Arrest Report Says Thousands Of Suspects Too Injured To Enter Jail
A new report released in Baltimore says that for the past three years, thousands of people who were arrested have been far too injured to enter Baltimore jails as a result of their arrests, heading instead to Baltimore-area hospitals.
Citing reports that date back to June of 2012, The Baltimore Sun reported yesterday that over 2,600 detainees were denied entrance to the Baltimore City Detention Center because their injuries were too severe. Over a hundred of the arrested individuals were suffering from visible head injuries. The rest of the Baltimore arrestees suffered everything from broken bones, facial trauma and high blood pressure.
There’s no indication in the reports as to how the Baltimore arrestees received their injuries, however, the report indicates that officers either ignored the injuries, didn’t notice them, or just didn’t care when the arrestees were brought to the Baltimore City Detention Center.
According to the story, the Baltimore Police Department had no comment when questioned about the arrest reports.
This new story by The Baltimore Sun turns up the scrutiny that the Baltimore Police Department is currently enduring. Treatment of suspects is a hot button issue right now in Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray in April. Prosecutors say that Gray suffered a broken neck while riding in a Baltimore police van, an injury that killed the suspect. Six officers involved in Freddie Gray’s death are now facing criminal charges, including second-degree murder.
Following the Freddie Gray incident, Baltimore turned into a firestorm. The death of Gray was reacted to with city-wide protests, riots, fights and looting. Baltimore became a focal point in the United States to examine the way that police officers treat suspects, especially black men. The riots in Baltimore prompted the Federal Justice Department to announce that it was conducting a civil-rights investigation of the Baltimore Police Department late last week.
“The ghetto was a deliberate policy invention” http://t.co/C5kX736nis
— Ezra Klein (@ezraklein) May 11, 2015
Baltimore paid out $5.7m between 2011 and 2014 to settle police brutality suits http://t.co/JcHqgGOa5B
— The Economist (@TheEconomist) May 10, 2015
Last year, in September, The Baltimore Sun reported that the city of Baltimore has paid out almost $6 million in settlements and court judgements in over 100 police brutality lawsuits filed since 2011.
This latest report from The Baltimore Sun was inspired by the death of Freddie Gray, who allegedly askef for medical help over a dozen times while he was in police custody.
According to the paper, A. Dwight Pettit, a civil rights attorney who has sued the Baltimore Police Deparment dozens of times in the last forty years, said this about the report.
“Why would they render medical care when they rendered many of the injuries on the people?”
Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images
