According to an incident report, Tawon Boyd attempted to enter two police cars, ran to a neighbor’s house and shouted: ‘Help! Call the police’ 
 
 Baltimore man who called 911 for help dies after being punched by police 
 
 A 21-year-old man died in a hospital near Baltimore on Wednesday, after an altercation with county police officers who repeatedly punched him as they responded to a call for an ambulance. 
 
 Keith Scott shooting: video emerges of fatal encounter with Charlotte police Read more 
 
 Tawon Boyd was pronounced dead after doctors failed to revive him following his encounter with the police. An autopsy has not been completed. 
 
 According to initial accounts by the Baltimore County police department, officers were responding to a 911 call placed by Boyd’s girlfriend, Deona Styron. But a lawyer for Boyd’s family, Latoya Francis-Williams, told a different story. She said Boyd called 911 himself because he was feeling disoriented and needed an ambulance. 
 
 “They really were supposed to be there to get him to the nearest healthcare facility,” Francis-Williams said. 
 
 After being questioned on the discrepancy, the police department updated its account, saying: “Police originally thought the girlfriend was the caller because the information passed on to police from the dispatcher said ‘female yelling on the phone’.” 
 
 According to the police incident report: “The call stated that there is a female yelling in the background. 911 added that a female keeps saying ‘Tell them hurry up’.” 
 
 Boyd repeatedly asked officers to enter his home, the report said, and asked a neighbor to call the police. Boyd told officers that Styron, who lived with him, “got him intoxicated and is secretly recording him while someone else is in the home”. The author of the police report described Boyd as “confused and paranoid”. Boyd asked officers to go into the house and find out who was inside. 
 
 According to the report, Boyd attempted to enter two police cars and then ran to a neighbor’s house and banged on the door, calling: “Help! Call the police!” 
 
 “It was obvious suspect Boyd was under the influence of a narcotic and/or suffering [REDACTED] and needed to be taken to the hospital for emergency evaluation,” the report noted. 
 
 By the time medics loaded Boyd into the back of an ambulance, he reportedly had physical injuries imposed by officers. 
 
 The report does not describe Boyd as violent or threatening, saying Boyd seemed to scratch the author’s neck and accidentally kick another officer, named Garland, “while trying to stand”. Boyd grabbed a third officer’s face, the report said, describing his hand slipping down to the officer’s badge and microphone. That officer, Bowman, “delivered two closed fist strikes to the suspect’s face with his right fist”. 
 
 Francis-Williams said: “He is literally attacked. And by attacked, I mean the witness [Styron] is describing that he [was] struck many times and struck to the ground. 
 
 “Officer Bowman is the one that when he arrived, really started wailing on Mr Boyd, meaning Mr Boyd was on the ground in a prone position and Bowman sat on him, almost straddled his back, and put his left arm under Boyd’s neck and pulled his head up in a choking fashion.” 
 
 This is not too far from the language used in the incident report, which says “officers were able to get him under control by using our body weight to keep him on the ground. Officer Bowman controlled Suspect Boyd’s head and arms by holding him down with his arms while [the report author] held Suspect Boyd down by leaning on his buttocks/thigh area with my knees and using my arms.” 
 
 Boyd’s grandmother, Linda Burch, told the Baltimore Sun: “I kept telling them stop before they hurt him because I told them they could kill him like that. They told me to go across the street before they lock me up.” 
 
 Betty Shelby released on $50,000 bail in Terence Crutcher shooting Read more 
 
 Styron could not be reached for comment. Of her own conversation with Styron, Francis-Williams said: “According to the witness, Mr Boyd was screaming, ‘Stop, stop, I can’t breathe.’ That could have been from the choking but at the same time, officer Bowman is punching and striking Mr Boyd in the face and in the neck area. 
 
 “The witness described that after a little she’s screaming, ‘Stop,’ and Mr Boyd is kind of foaming at the mouth or spitting and his body goes limp.” 
 
 According to the incident report, Boyd became so calm that Bowman “asked a medic to check the suspect for a pulse”. The report noted that the “medics advised that the suspect did have a heartbeat prior to being transported”. 
 
 The report ends with a redacted list of minor injuries sustained by the officers. Boyd ended up in intensive care. 
 
 Though an autopsy has not been released, Francis-Williams said there was “swelling on the brain and fluid on the brain because the doctors attempted to drain that. 
 
 “My understanding is his kidneys end up failing and at some point, his heart stops,” she said. 
 
 Police officials said the autopsy report could take as long as a month to complete. ||||| Baltimore County police and fire officials are investigating the circumstances behind the death of 21-year-old Tawon Boyd, who died Wednesday, three days after police struggled with him while responding to a disturbance call. 
 
 A medic who was called to the scene gave Boyd medication to calm him down. Autopsy results are a critical component in this case, because they might reveal whether the drug haloperidol, which sources said medics gave the victim to calm him down, contributed to his death. Police confirm a key element of this case will be the impact the calming drug may have had on Boyd. 
 
 "The autopsy is a crucial piece of evidence," said A. Dwight Pettit, an attorney representing the Boyd family. 
 
 Instead of a wedding and baby shower, Boyd's family is planning a funeral. 
 
 "I just want my son back. They could have Tased him. They could have maced him. They could have done anything," said Martha Boyd, Tawon Boyd's mother. 
 
 Baltimore County police responded to a disturbance call around 3 a.m. Friday at Akin Circle in Middle River. Officers said Tawon Boyd seemed confused, paranoid and sweated heavily. 
 
 Police called an ambulance. According to sources, one of the medics gave Tawon Boyd haloperidol, an antipsychotic drug used to calm agitated individuals. Police write in their report, "Boyd became so calm that Officer Bowman asked a medic to check the suspect for a pulse." 
 
 PDF: Read the police report 
 
 According to the incident report, Tawon Boyd told police, "There is someone in the house. You need to go inside and search. He further stated that he believes his girlfriend got him intoxicated and is secretly recording him while someone else is in the home." 
 
 "There has been a statement put out that his mind wasn't right cognitively, but certainly nothing dealing with aggression, or anger, or abuse," said Latoya Francis-Willilams, an attorney representing the Boyd family. 
 
 Tawon Boyd's girlfriend told police that he had been drinking and smoking pot. Officers reported that when they tried to take him to a hospital for an emergency evaluation, Tawon Boyd ran, screaming, knocking on neighbors' doors, asking them to call police. Officers said he resisted all attempts to restrain him. 
 
 "Police were on his shoulders and had him face-down on the ground. They was (sic) holding him. (It looked) like they was (sic) hitting him, or something," said Linda Burch, Tawon Boyd's grandmother. 
 
 Police write in their report that during the scuffle, an officer punched Tawon Boyd twice in the face. 
 
 "I said, 'You are hurting him, hurting him.' He kept saying, 'Grandma, they trying (sic) to kill me. They trying (sic) to kill me, grandma,'" Burch said. 
 
 It will be at least seven days before autopsy results are available. 
 
 Baltimore County authorities said there were two 911 calls. The calls have not yet been released. The Baltimore County 911 Center received the first call at 3:06:45 (it ends at 3:20:11), and Tawon Boyd is the caller. Police originally thought the girlfriend was the caller because the information passed on to police from the dispatcher said, "Female yelling on the phone." 
 
 The caller, assumed to be Tawon Boyd, is understandable at various moments, but the tape consists mostly of screaming from Tawon Boyd and the girlfriend, and is difficult to understand. Tawon Boyd does not call for medical help. Based on this call, police were dispatched to a disturbance. 
 
 The second call came at 3:25:49 and ended at 3:33:58. This was an open call that consists mostly of screaming and other noise. It is unclear who placed the call. 
 
 A review of dispatch records has indicated the following timeline: 
 
 Police are dispatched at 3:09 for a disturbance. 
 
 Police unit arrives at 3:18. 
 
 Police call for EMS at 3:28. 
 
 EMS arrives at 3:33. 
 
 EMS leaves scene with patient at 3:58. 
 
 EMS arrives at hospital at 4:10. ||||| ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 
 
 Copyright © 2015 Albuquerque Journal 
 
 Declaring that “I have a job to do and I’m doing it,” District Attorney Kari Brandenburg said her office was filing murder charges against two Albuquerque police officers in the shooting of a mentally ill homeless camper in the Sandia foothills last spring in a case captured on a police video that shocked the nation. 
 
 The charges filed Monday against officer Dominique Perez and recently retired Detective Keith Sandy appear to be the first against an APD officer for an on-duty fatal shooting in at least 50 years. Both men are charged with an open count of murder for the March 2014 shooting death of James Boyd following a four-hour standoff. 
 
 Brandenburg said Perez and Sandy would not be booked into jail until after a preliminary hearing is held to determine if there is enough evidence for either of them to stand trial on any of three charges – first-degree murder, second-degree murder or voluntary manslaughter. 
 
 “We have enough evidence of probable cause,” Brandenburg told reporters. “We can meet that standard in this case.” 
 
 Sandy’s attorney, Sam Bregman, said that charging the officers was a “terrible, terrible decision.” 
 
 “There is not one shred of evidence to support any … criminal intent on the part of Keith Sandy,” Bregman said. 
 
 Luis Robles, who represents Perez, did not respond to Journal telephone messages left with his receptionist. 
 
 Brandenburg said that neither the high-profile nature of the Boyd shooting with widespread airing of the video, nor recent cases around the country where police were not charged by grand juries, entered into her decision to file the charges and proceed with a preliminary hearing. 
 
 Perez has been on administrative assignment since the shooting. Sandy was allowed to retire from the department eight months after the shooting. 
 
 Brandenburg said the preliminary hearing will allow all of the evidence to come out in public. She declined to discuss the specific facts that led her office to conclude it had enough evidence to proceed. 
 
 District Judge Alisa Hadfield has been assigned the case. No hearing has been scheduled. 
 
 At the conclusion of the preliminary hearing, a judge will have to decide whether to bind either man over for trial and on what charge. 
 
 Typically, preliminary hearings are held within 60 days of the charges being filed, but Brandenburg’s office said defense attorneys have agreed to waive any time limits on scheduling the hearing. 
 
 Brandenburg said her office had used the preliminary hearing route before to charge police officers in other matters, but not in any shooting cases. 
 
 Bregman said that in one sense he welcomed the preliminary hearing process. 
 
 “I’m not so upset with her for doing this process because it is transparent and I want the public to understand what happened here,” he said. 
 
 “I personally don’t find fault with the idea of going to a prelim instead of a grand jury proceeding. I do find fault with even bringing criminal information to begin with.” 
 
 The shooting 
 
 Boyd, 36, had been camping in a restricted area of open space in Albuquerque’s foothills when he was told to leave by Open Space officers. Boyd, who had a history of mental illness and run-ins with police, refused and brandished at least one of the two small knives he carried during the standoff with police. 
 
 More officers were called to the scene, with more than 20 present at one point. 
 
 Officer Perez’s helmet-mounted camera captured the final moments of the standoff, when Boyd appeared to be complying with commands to leave. As he bent down to gather his belongings, an officer throws a flash-bang grenade at his feet. Another officer sends a police dog at Boyd, who pulls the knives out of his pockets again. 
 
 As he appears to turn away from the officers, Sandy and Perez fire three rounds apiece from assault-style rifles, striking Boyd in the back. Officers continue to yell at him to drop the knives. 
 
 “Please don’t hurt me anymore. I can’t move,” Boyd says as he lies on the ground. 
 
 Officers fire bean-bag rounds at him as he’s on the ground, then let loose a police dog, which grabs his leg and shakes it. He doesn’t move. Officers then approach and cuff him. 
 
 Boyd, who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, died the next day at the hospital. 
 
 Bregman, at a news conference Monday, said Sandy shot Boyd because the officer handling the dog didn’t have his weapon drawn and was just 8 feet from Boyd. 
 
 At the time, newly appointed Police Chief Gorden Eden told reporters that based on his preliminary review the shooting appeared to be justified. 
 
 The incident occurred shortly before the U.S. Department of Justice released findings that APD had a pattern or practice of using excessive and fatal force in APD shootings investigated prior to Boyd’s death. 
 
 Mayor Richard Berry, who later said the chief spoke too quickly and called the Boyd shooting a “game changer,” asked the FBI to investigate. That is a separate investigation and is ongoing, although information has been shared with investigators from APD, Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and State Police. 
 
 On Monday, Elizabeth M. Martinez, assistant U.S. Attorney, released a statement: “The Justice Department will be closely monitoring the local prosecution arising out of the officer involved shooting of James Boyd. The federal investigation into this matter remains open.” 
 
 Berry also issued a statement Monday. 
 
 “We trust the judicial system will provide the family, our community and the officer a fair, transparent and unbiased opportunity to explore and present the facts as they relate to this tragic event,” he said. “It is important for all of us to allow the process to progress without prejudice in order for our community to move forward.” 
 
 Last fall, APD released dashboard camera footage taken before the shooting in which Sandy is heard talking to New Mexico State Police Sgt. Chris Ware about Boyd, calling him a “f***ing lunatic.” 
 
 Bregman acknowledged that Sandy talked about using force against Boyd just as the officer arrived on scene. In a recording, Sandy appears to tell the State Police officer that he planned to shoot Boyd with a less-lethal shotgun that fires a Taser. 
 
 “He said he was going to shoot with a Taser shotgun. Now does a Taser shotgun sound like lethal force? No,” Bregman said in a news conference he scheduled for the same time as Brandenburg’s. 
 
 “They were called out there, Keith particularly, because that unit had Taser shotguns. That’s what was said on that (the tape recording). You don’t shoot someone with a Taser shotgun because you are premeditating killing them.” 
 
 Earlier cases 
 
 All shootings by APD officers are reviewed by Brandenburg’s office. No officer has faced criminal charges as a result of those reviews, but one officer involved in a shooting during that time was fired as a result of APD’s investigation. 
 
 Albuquerque police are implementing a series of reforms negotiated between the U.S. Department of Justice and the city after the DOJ issued a report concluding Albuquerque police had a pattern of using excessive force, which included police shootings. The Boyd shooting was not one of those reviewed. 
 
 Brandenburg said that for 30 years “investigative grand juries” supervised by her office and her predecessors reviewed all police shootings in Bernalillo County. 
 
 In spring 2012, Brandenburg and District Court judges agreed that she would temporarily stop using the “investigative grand juries” after Journal stories made the inner workings of those proceedings public. 
 
 In January 2013, Brandenburg announced her intention to resume using the special grand juries to review police shootings, but state District Court judges put a halt to that. 
 
 Attorneys for victims’ families have called the investigative grand jury process a “sham” in court filings. 
 
 In halting the “investigative grand juries,” the judges told Brandenburg “that the appearance of a lack of impartiality is impossible to avoid, especially given that the procedure is used only for police officers and specifically limited to officer-involved shootings.” 
 
 Journal stories about the internal workings of the grand juries showed that grand jurors were provided instructions on different versions of justified shootings, but no criminal statutes; prosecutors met with officers to review testimony; and prosecutors asked officers leading questions. 
 
 Brandenburg has been the subject of an APD investigation in which detectives recently found probable cause to charge her under state law that prohibits bribery or intimidation of a witness in connection with a burglary investigation of her son. APD has sent that case to the state Attorney General’s Office for review. 
 
 In response to a question at her news conference, Brandenburg said that investigation had nothing to do with her decision to charge the officers. She said her office had made a “preliminary” decision to file charges against Perez and Sandy before she learned of the APD probe.
– A 21-year-old Baltimore County man died in the hospital three days after being repeatedly punched by officers responding to his 911 call, the Guardian reports. According to the Baltimore Sun, Tawon Boyd called 911 early last Sunday. He told officers his girlfriend, Deona Styron, had "got him intoxicated and is secretly recording him." Boyd's grandmother, Linda Burch, says Boyd "was acting...like he was on something." Police noted he seemed "confused and paranoid," and it was clear he "needed to be taken to the hospital." But Boyd started trying to get into police cars and resisted attempts to restrain him, resulting in minor injuries to three officers. Based on the police report, it doesn't appear Boyd was trying to hurt the officers. He was holding onto one of the officer's shirts when the officer punched him twice in the face. At that point, the family's lawyer, Latoya Francis-Williams, says Boyd was "literally attacked" by officers. She says they got on top of him and "really started wailing." “I kept telling them stop before they hurt him,” Burch tells the Sun. “They told me to go across the street before they lock me up.” WBAL reports a medic gave Boyd haloperidol, an antipsychotic drug, to calm him down. An autopsy is now looking into whether the drug played a role in Boyd's death Wednesday from heart and kidney failure. Boyd's family is accusing the police of using too much force. “Mr. Boyd was in need of medical attention, and the police responded with violence,” Francis-Williams tells the Sun.