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MD Lawmakers Consider Police Transparency Law After Teen's Death

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ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP)- Family members of a black Caroline County teenager who died after a struggle with police officers urged Maryland lawmakers Tuesday to approve legislation to increase transparency and accountability for police officers.

The measure, named for 19-year-old Anton Black, would enable people who file complaints about an officer to receive a copy of documents for previous complaints filed against the police officer.

"The family and community that raised this young man deserved answers, and they didn't get it for months, and I think it is unfortunate and a travesty when we have our police departments not being accountable to the very communities and families that they serve, and this bill will address just that," said Del. Gabriel Acevero, a Montgomery County Democrat, as family members stood by him at a news conference.

Black died Sept. 15 after an 11-minute struggle with three Greensboro police officers and a civilian outside his family's home on Maryland's Eastern Shore. An autopsy report from the chief medical examiner's office about Black's death says a struggle with police likely contributed to his death.

"I still have got a lot of questions about what happened to my son," Antone Black, Anton's father, said. "I can't sleep. I still hear him saying: 'Please don't kill me. Please don't kill me.'"

An investigation found that one of the officers had been indicted on second-degree assault charges while working in Delaware. He was found not guilty and resigned. He received his Maryland Police Training Standards Commission certification in May 2018. An investigation into Black's death continues.

"There were so many things that were wrong with this situation, so many questions that we must continue to ask, not just of our elected officials but of our police departments - questions as to why a man who had such a terrible record in the state of Delaware as a police officer could cross the lines into the state of Maryland and be hired," Acevero said.

The incident with police began when authorities responded to a report of the teenager dragging a 12-year-old boy down a street. Attorneys for Black's family have said he was playing with a longtime friend and wasn't harming the child.

Police chased Black onto his family's property, where he locked himself inside a car. An officer used a baton to break the driver's side window and then shocked Black with a Taser through the broken window before the teen got out and struggled with the officers and a civilian, the autopsy report said.

Black appeared to be "unresponsive," but was still breathing and had a pulse after officers handcuffed him and restrained his legs, the report says. After his mother pointed out that her son was "turning dark," officers removed the handcuffs and began performing CPR on him, about 11 minutes after the struggle began, the report said. Black was pronounced dead at a hospital.

The medical examiner's report says Black's medical record showed he recently had been involuntarily hospitalized and diagnosed with bipolar disorder. The report describes his mental illness as a "significant contributing condition."

Don Rush is the News Director 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.