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Examiner: Md. custody death from blunt force trauma

Baltimore man was initially believed to have died from choking on drugs

The Capital

BALTIMORE — The Maryland medical examiner’s office said a Baltimore man who died in police custody died from blunt force trauma and not from choking on drugs.

Police initially believed that 46-year-old Anthony Anderson died last month from drugs lodged in his airway.

But police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said Tuesday that the medical examiner has determined that while drugs were found in Anderson’s system, they didn’t contribute to his death.

Homicide detectives will investigate, per standard protocol. A decision on whether Anderson’s death was a legally justifiable homicide will come from the state’s attorney.

Police had said officers were trying to arrest Anderson for a drug crime when he consumed the drugs and later died. His family had contested that account and planned to discuss the case Tuesday evening.

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