ACLU Report Documents 143 Deaths in Maryland Police Encounters, Half Involving Medical or Behavioral Health Crises
An ACLU of Maryland report documents 143 deaths in police encounters from 2015 to 2023, finding nearly half involved individuals showing signs of medical or behavioral health crises. Black Marylanders were killed at three times the rate of white residents, and among unarmed victims, close to 80% were Black. The report calls for redirecting crisis response away from armed officers toward trained crisis teams and notes no on-duty officer was convicted of any crime related to these deaths during the study period. The findings highlight systemic failures across policing, medical examiner practices, and legal accountability.
This analysis informs how Medicaid-funded behavioral health crisis services and mobile crisis response teams are integrated with or replace law enforcement response, particularly for Medicaid enrollees with serious mental illness or substance use disorders in crisis situations.
Behavioral Health
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