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Baltimore Police Tighten Rules on Medical Attention for Prisoners

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BALTIMORE (AP) - The Baltimore Police Department has updated its use of force policy to mandate officers to immediately render aid if someone in custody complains of an injury a year after Freddie Gray suffered a critical spinal injury in a police van but was initially denied medical treatment.

Police Commissioner Kevin Davis announced the new policy Wednesday. The policy hasn't be updated since 2003.

The new policy provides a complete overhaul of the old, which included very little information about what constitutes appropriate use of force. Instead, the policy largely focused on how to document the incident among supervisors.

The updated version, which is 14 pages rather than just six, includes sections on de-escalation tactics.

The updates come after Gray's death sparked protest and rioting, and toppled the career of Davis' predecessor.

Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.