From [HERE] and [MORE] Baltimore Police have launched a criminal investigation into Friday's in-custody death of a 46-year-old Black man in East Baltimore, who police initially said was believed to have died from choking on drugs. 

Relatives of the man and eyewitnesses have come forward to say the man, identified by family as Anthony Anderson, was assaulted by police. Police confirmed that they have interviewed those witnesses, and say a preliminary autopsy shows that the man did not die from choking on drugs. People who say they witnessed his death — including his family members — believe he died from injuries sustained while being arrested.

Witnesses say he was leaving the OK Liquor Store on East Biddle street when they observed plainclothes officers run up behind him and slam him to the ground. They say he went limp, and believe he already was dead when an ambulance picked him up.

In a particularly dramatic recounting, Gordon claimed that Anderson was raised in the air "as high as a basketball hoop" and thrown to the ground. Gordon said a crumpled and dying Anderson turned to his mother and said, "God has taken me now. My work here is done. Take care of my family."

Jennifer Cheese, 45, who passed through the vacant lot before the rally, said she saw officers grab Anderson from the back and "tussle with him a little bit." She said they handcuffed him and sat him upright, but that he was slumped over and unresponsive.

"They slammed him, but it wasn't on his head," said Cheese, who said she knew Anderson through a drug treatment program. "They're doing their job, but they took it over the top. That's too much aggression for one pill."