Police in Maryland have been accused of causing racial tension by the family of a black 19-year-old man who died in custody in 2018.
A complaint from Black’s family claiming that the police used excessive force against him was denied dismissal by US District Judge Catherine Blake in January of 2022.
A body camera video of the fatal incident does not definitively refute the family’s claims that Black was subjected to excessive force by the officers, according to Blake’s 27-page judgment
Dateline spent a year looking into the death of Black and the similarities to Floyd’s murder. What had Anton Black been thinking? Every Friday at 10 p.m. EST, NBC airs a one-hour special report.
Anton Black Has Disappeared
In rural Greensboro, Anton Black died after being chased by white police officers and restrained for six minutes outside his family’s home.
Eight months after a court refused to dismiss the family’s complaint that police used excessive force, Black’s parents are now stepping up.
When Maryland Governor Larry Hogan expressed his displeasure with the investigation’s progress in 2019, an autopsy report on Black’s death was released.
There was no foul play, and Black’s death was most likely caused by his congenital heart condition, mental instability, and the strain of the war.
According to Johns Hopkins University cardiologists who witnessed the case, asphyxiation was the real cause of the death of Black.
When Dr. David Fowler, Maryland’s former chief medical examiner, retired in 2019, he made sure that Black’s autopsy was accurate and authentic.
It is clear that many white people in this community supported law enforcement when Black died, but Christina Robinson, a family friend, still blames the police for his death.
Anton Black, a 19-year-old black male, was killed by police brutality because of racial bias
On September 15, 2018, Anton Black was killed in a confrontation with police on his mother’s front porch in Greensboro, North Carolina
“He’s at his mother’s door, waiting for her. He only wanted to go back to his own home. Asked, “Why are you ignoring him when he’s at home?” Antone Black, Antone Black’s father, is said to have told Dateline.
In his words, “That’s just not right.” He didn’t hurt anyone. There is no truth to that. “No one was killed by him,” he insisted.
Retired Officer Thomas Webster IV was seen on body camera footage of the incident addressing the child following a 911 call reporting a man roughly pulling a child down the road in a headlock.
Black’s family friend told the officer that he was acting strangely because he was “schizophrenic,” and the officer believed him.
“I love you,” said Black as Webster ordered him to put his hands behind his back and submit himself to arrest. To get back to his parents’ house after that, he ran back to their residence.
Ex-Ridgley police chief Gary Manos and Centreville officer Dennis Lannon were attempting to subdue Black when he began to lose consciousness. Webster Because they weren’t on duty, Manos and Lannon couldn’t help Webster find Black.
Officer Thomas Webster, the assassin of Anton Black, has vanished
Although he’s been sued and accused of committing serious crimes, former Greensboro police officer Thomas Webster is probably out of jail right now.
Anton’s death was ruled an accident, and thus no one has ever been arrested or prosecuted.
A Greensboro police officer’s policy on responding to people who are experiencing mental health crises led the judge to the conclusion that when Webster smashed Black’s car window, he didn’t try to diffuse the situation or avoid responding to someone who was experiencing one.
In 2013, Thomas was accused of breaking the jaw of a Black man he kicked in the face while being arrested. In spite of the dashcam video, he was acquitted.
After being charged with a serious second-degree assault, he resigned from his position in Dover with what appeared to be no major issues and a sizable $230,000 severance package.
