BALTIMORE (AP) - Baltimore police didn't follow state guidelines to prevent escapes when officers left a suicidal suspect unattended at a local hospital.
Police took 25-year-old Anthony Jerome Clark Jr. to a hospital for psychological treatment in May after he harmed himself when they tried arresting him for a robbery.
Police say the hospital never notified them of Clark's release. Weeks later, police say Clark shot and killed 13-year-old DiAndre Barnes.
The Baltimore Sun reports that state guidelines call for at least one officer to remain with violent criminal detainees during treatment.
Spokesman T.J. Smith says police followed a department policy that says officers are no longer responsible for patients when they're in the custody of the medical facility.
Smith says the department stands "by the fact that we did not violate any policy."
