Authorities learned of homicide ruling in November
Annapolis man died after being in police, fire custody
Annapolis authorities have known the Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled an Annapolis man died by homicide for at least a month, a city police spokesperson said Monday.
Renardo Green, 51, died in a hospital in June three days after he suffered cardiac arrest while handcuffed and strapped to a stretcher chest down in an Annapolis Fire Department ambulance, according to the autopsy report signed Sept. 20. Dr. Victor W. Weedn, Maryland’s chief medical examiner, ruled Green’s cause of death was “prone restraint cardiac arrest” and the manner was a homicide. Drug intoxication contributed to Green’s death, Weedn found.
After The Capital and The Baltimore Sun revealed the findings of Green’s autopsy report last week, Patti Norris, an Annapolis police spokesperson, said in a statement Monday the department learned about the medical examiner’s opinion in early November. Norris did not give a specific date.
Anne Arundel County’s State’s Attorney’s Office also was informed of the medical examiner’s autopsy report in early November, the statement continued.
Norris said Annapolis police were investigating the circumstances of Green’s death.
The Annapolis police department statement Monday acknowledging city police
are investigating Green’s death is a departure from how the department said the case was being handled in early December.
When asked on Dec. 7 whether Annapolis police officers were investigating Green’s death and why, Norris said “the case is being reviewed by the state’s attorney’s office.”
When Annapolis police complete their investigation, the results will be forwarded to the State’s Attorney’s Office, Norris said Monday. There is no time frame for when the investigation is expected to be complete, she said.
On June 1, Green’s wife called police and paramedics to her apartment around 2 a.m. because Green was being destructive
while under the influence of PCP, according to the 911 call. Police did not arrest
Green, but handcuffed him and placed him on his side as they waited for Annapolis emergency medical services to arrive. Emergency medical services transported Green, restrained on his stomach, to the ambulance and began to load him into the vehicle when he became unresponsive, according to police reports.
Weedn determined Green died by homicide because was restrained on his stomach, which prevented him from breathing, caused his heart to stop and led to his becoming brain-dead, according to the autopsy report. Being restrained in the prone position inhibits breathing and the ability of the heart to pump blood effectively, according to a 2021 paper published in the Journal of Medicine, Science and the Law. Green had PCP, TCP, methadone, fentanyl and cocaine in his system when he died, according to the autopsy report.
Annapolis leaders and members of City Council said they were alarmed to hear the medical examiner’s conclusion of homicide as Green’s manner of death, who was a lifelong Annapolis resident known as “Hot Dog.”
Several members of the City Council said they were not briefed on Green’s death in June or the investigation into the findings of his autopsy report. Community leaders who have pushed for greater transparency and accountability from law enforcement also said they were disappointed to learn city officials withheld information about Green’s death from the public.