NBC Dateline: What are the names of the cops who chased Anton Black?

NBC Dateline is all set to bring forth the shocking case of Anton Black's murder in police custody with its upcoming episode on August 5, 2022. In a starkly similar case to that of George Floyd's murder, which received international attention, a 19-year-old Maryland boy was allegedly killed by three cops.

The memories and accounts of the event are blurry enough for even veteran investigators to get confused. However, three police officers, Thomas Webster IV, Police chief Gary Manos, and officer Dennis Lannon have been singled out as the people who tried to wrestle Anton Black down. In the process, they applied enough pressure to suffocate and kill the youngster.

Black's family filed a federal lawsuit almost two years after the boy's death, suing the three police officers, alongside the medical examiner, three towns where the officers served, and the two police chiefs involved in the case.

While George Floyd's death sparked media attention and coverage from around the world, he was just one of the many victims of police brutality and racism.

Anton Black was allegedly reported by a passerby when they saw him having a scuffle with a much younger boy. When the passerby couple failed to make Black let go of the kid, they called the police.

Officer Thomas Webster IV, who was already infamous for his treatment of African-Americans, responded to the call. Webster's controversial hiring was already protested by the African-American community of Maryland.

He was joined by former Ridgley police Chief Gary Manos and Centreville police Officer Dennis Lannon, both of whom were off-duty at the time. According to reports and eyewitness claims, there was also another civilian involved in the chase that ultimately ended in the death of the young Anton Black.

Although Anton died from the police's attempts at securing and shackling him, the medical examiner at the time, David Fowler, ruled the cause of Anton's death as "undetermined," and hinted at his underlying heart condition and mental health issues as the root cause for his cardiac arrest.

Nearly two years later, when Black's family filed a federal lawsuit against the officers, they also included David Fowler in it. The lawsuit read:

"Anton Black died because police employed excessive force, laying him out prone on his stomach, lying on top of him for approximately six minutes and approximately five minutes after he was handcuffed, and folding his legs towards the sky in a manner that further compromised his ability to breathe."

The judge admitted that there was a "genuine dispute of material fact" regarding Webster's behavior or the use of excessive force by all police officers involved. District Judge Catherine Blake said:

"It is impossible to tell how much weight and what body parts, if any, Webster placed on Black throughout the nearly six minutes of footage. Nor can a viewer discern if or for how long Webster placed his knees on Black's neck, shoulders, or upper torso."

The issue of police brutality and racism continues to plague American society to the present day.

NBC Dateline will cover this case in detail when it airs on July 5, 2022.