Video shows moments leading up to Baltimore police custody death, lawyer calls response "disgraceful"
The Maryland Attorney General's Office on Wednesday shared body camera video from the Baltimore Police officers who responded to a mental health crisis that turned into an in-custody death in June.
The six-hour video captured the moments that 31-year-old Dontae Melton Jr. approached an officer at a red light and was detained as police waited for a medical unit to arrive.
A lawyer for Melton's family criticized the police response and the length of time it took to get Melton medical assistance.
The encounter on June 24 lasted nearly an hour from the time Melton flagged down a police officer during a mental health crisis to his arrival in a police vehicle at a hospital less than five minutes away.
According to investigators, an ambulance never arrived, and Melton died after being driven to Grace Medical Center in a police vehicle.
The Maryland Attorney General's Independent Investigations Division (IID) is investigating the incident, as they do with all fatal or near-fatal incidents that involve law enforcement.
The body-camera video
Just before 9:40 p.m., on June 24, Melton approached a police officer and begged for help.
"This is an emergency," he told Officer Gerard Pettiford.
On the radio, Pettiford said, "He just seems like he's having a mental health crisis.
Melton believed someone was chasing him.
Officer Pettiford warned him to stay out of the busy West Franklin Street and North Franklintown Road intersection and eventually handcuffed him.
Backup came quickly.
"Bro, he's going to shoot me," Melton yelled.
One officer told him, "We're not trying to hurt you."
The scene was chaotic, with Melton cuffed by his arms and legs
Officers waited for a medic that never arrived.
"I can't breathe, yo. I can't breathe," Melton screamed at one point.
The officers openly questioned why the medic had not arrived.
"Where is this medic? This is insane," one officer said.
Another officer monitoring Melton noted, "His pulse is crazy high. I can feel it in his elbow."
Melton quickly went quiet. Police tried to pick him up.
"He is a complete deadweight, Sarge. Do you want him to go back to the ground? He is a complete deadweight. He is not standing under any of his own power. Let's just sit him down," police said.
Around 10:02 p.m., officers discussed pouring water on Melton.
Pettiford said he needed a medic because he injured his finger and hand during his initial encounter with Melton.
"Tell them I want a medic too. They'll come faster," Pettiford said.
Some officers eventually tried to place Melton into the police car.
But they quickly take him out of the vehicle, expressing concern that transporting him that way would be unsafe.
They again question why the medic has not arrived.
"I could've made a smoke signal by now that would've gotten the fire department here," one officer said. "I could've probably driven to the fire department."
Baltimore's computer-aided dispatch system was down at the time, meaning police and fire could not communicate.
Because of the city's communication failure, the medic was never dispatched.
Melton was wearing a padded helmet. His head was resting on the curb.
"His breathing is getting slower and slower," an officer tells the sergeant on the scene.
"We're going to have to put him in a car. We can't continue to wait on a medic at this point."
Finally, police made the decision to transport him to nearby Grace Medical Center.
They arrived within two minutes, lights and sirens flashing.
Melton would later die.
A mother's pain
Melton's mother, Eleshiea Goode, previously told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren her son was not treated like a human being.
"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."
He had two children of his own, a 13-year-old son and an 11-year-old daughter.
"That is beyond frustrating to know that a system failed—that, according to what I'm reading, the medics never got the call. To know that people waited around for the medics to get the call," Goode said in a July interview. "And maybe I'm sounding too simple, but could they have just picked up the phone and called someone? What was the backup system? Was it in place? Was it followed? I have so many questions."
"My son, my son, my son! I just can't stress enough how loving Dontae is," Goode said.
Goode told WJZ in a past interview that, as her son got older, he suffered from seizures and was later diagnosed with a mood disorder.
"When he was on his meds, he was better than when he was off. When he was off, it was difficult for him—difficult in the sense that it seemed like he was just battling something all the time within his mind, and that's when the drug use entered," Goode said.
Goode worked to get him help and remembered the good times, including a party with his family just weeks before his death.
"He was a son, a father, and a human being who deserved care," Goode said. "Please don't forget that."
Melton's mom, a professional school counselor, said in the weeks leading up to his death, she went to court twice.
First, she asked for a protective order to alert authorities that he was struggling with his mental health.
The second time, she asked a judge for an emergency petition so her son could be taken for an evaluation.
Goode said the judge rejected her.
"The system broke"
She declined comment following the release of the video, referring Hellgren to her lawyer Larry Greenberg, who told him, "The system broke. It's that simple."
Greenberg called what happened "absolutely disgraceful" and said the delay getting Melton to the hospital was "excessive" and "problematic."
He said he planned to hold a news conference at a later date when he could see all of the video.
Greenberg noted—despite the six hours that was released—portions were redacted and edited.
Baltimore mayor reacts
WJZ caught up with Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott at an event on Wednesday afternoon.
"I can't comment too much because this is an open investigation with the attorney general's office," Scott said. "But I'll just say that when you see something like that, we know that we have to make sure that we are building systems that are able to treat people in the moment for what they need. We're taking it very seriously, to working with the attorney general and his team to look at all things. We will be following all rules and regulations in any outcomes that come from that active investigation."
Last month, the police union criticized the attorney general's release of the officers' names in this case.
"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 Maryland attorney general's office declined WJZ's interview request following the video's release.