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Down Syndrome Advocates Meet With Justice Dept.

FREDERICK, Md. (AP) -- Advocates for people with Down syndrome say the custody death of a Maryland man has caught the attention of the U.S. Justice Department.

The president of a Frederick County support group says he's meeting Tuesday at department headquarters in Washington with representatives of the agency, national Down syndrome organizations, Johns Hopkins University and the Kennedy Krieger Institute.

Denny Weikert says they'll brainstorm ideas for training police to deal with people with the genetic disorder.

He says the meeting stems from the January death of Robert Ethan Saylor, 26, of New Market. Saylor died of asphyxiation as three Frederick County sheriff's deputies tried to forcibly remove him from a movie theater.

A county grand jury decided last week not to pursue criminal charges against the deputies.

(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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