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Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Records show thousands of Baltimore arrestees too injured to enter jail, report says

Thousands of people arrested by Baltimore police over the past three years have been turned away from the city's jail because their injuries are too severe, according to a new report.

The Baltimore Sun, citing records dating back to June 2012, reported Sunday that corrections officers refused to admit over 2,600 detainees to the state-run Baltimore City Detention Center. The records showed that 123 of the detainees who weren't admitted to jail had visible head injuries, the third-most common ailment cited by jail officials. Others had broken bones, facial trauma and high blood pressure.

The records do not indicate how the people were injured or whether they suffered their injuries while in custody. However, they do suggest that police officers either ignored or did not notice the injuries. Suspects are constitutionally guaranteed health care before they are booked into jail.

Police did not comment to The Sun, and department spokespeople did not immediately return messages left by The Associated Press on Sunday.

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