Investigators identified the 10 Baltimore Police Department officers involved in the in-custody death of 31-year-old Donate Melton Jr.

The attorney general’s office said in a news release Thursday the officers involved were: Sgt. Joshua Jackson, an eight-year veteran of the force; and officers Andre Smith, Gerard Pettiford Jr., Jacob Dahl, Kevin Causion, Ever Cardenas-Huarcaya, Renardo Spencer, Jammal Parker, Darren Hicks Jr. and Ryan Stetser. All officers are assigned to the department’s Operations Bureau.

Parker and Hicks have been with BPD for two years; Spencer and Cardenas-Huarcaya have three years of service; and Dahl and Causion have worked with the department for five years, officials said.

Pettiford has been with the force for seven years, while Smith was the most senior involved officer, with 17 years of service, and Stetser was the most junior, having served for a year.

What led to Dontae Melton Jr.’s death

Melton approached police officers at the intersection of Franklintown Road and West Franklin Street around 9:40 p.m. on June 24 requesting help, the attorney general’s office said. Amid his mental health crisis, officers detained Melton in handcuffs and leg shackles and called for a medic to transport him to a hospital, according to dispatch audio.

Around 10:12 p.m., Melton became unconscious, and officers reiterated their need for a medic. Officials said the computer-aided dispatch system needed to reach medics failed that night, so no one responded to police calling for help on Melton’s behalf.

Just before 10:30 p.m., officers transported Melton to a hospital. He was pronounced dead a little after 3 a.m. on June 25.

Nearly 200 family, friends and co-workers filled DreamLife Worship Center in Randallstown on Saturday to say their final goodbyes to Melton. Though he battled mental illness much of his adult life after being diagnosed with a nonspecific mood disorder nearly 10 years ago, people remembered him as loving, hardworking, helpful, silly and family-oriented.

Three police-involved deaths in one month

Melton’s death followed the fatal police-involved shooting of Bilal Abdullah, a well-known arabber, in Upton. On June 17, police trailed Abdullah after receiving a tip that he waved a weapon and made threats to people in the area that day.

Abdullah ran from officers, then shot at them three times, officials said. Officers Devin Yancy, Omar Rodriguez and Ashley Negron responded with 38 shots.

Community members responded in an uproar, which officials say made it more difficult for them to render aid. Abdullah’s death sparked a rally that galvanized hundreds.

By about 12 hours, Melton’s death preceded the police-involved shooting of 70-year-old Pytorcarcha Brooks in the Mosher neighborhood. Baltimore Police officers who responded to Brooks’ home for a wellness check breached her door to take her to a hospital for treatment. This could be seen in body camera footage. As Brooks approached them wielding a knife, bodycam footage shows one officer fired a Taser at her and, when she got back up and approached him again, another fatally shot her.

The two officers involved in Brooks’ death were from the patrol division: Stephen Colbert, an eight-year veteran, and Stephen Galewski, a three-year veteran.

Crisis response concerns

Tensions ran high among community members at Baltimore City Council’s Public Safety Committee’s police accountability meeting Tuesday. Residents were concerned about Brooks’ and Melton’s deaths, perplexed that mental health resources were not deployed.

All BPD officers, 911 specialists and police dispatchers receive entry-level behavioral health training. Crisis intervention-trained patrol officers must take 40 hours of specialized training and an annual eight-hour refresher.

Crisis response team members receive 40 hours of specialized training and advanced training. They also respond to behavioral health and emergency petition scenes with a licensed clinician. Per BPD policy, police responding to a behavioral crisis have to request a CIT officer to take lead of the situation if one is available.

Although police had been called to Brooks’ home about 20 times prior, the Baltimore Crisis Response team was not called the day police fatally shot her. Officials said this was because the call was about Brooks attempting to stab her son.

Only one of the officers on the scene of Brooks’ death was a CIT officer. Fire department personnel intervened, officials said, but the situation did not deescalate.