Rayam was investigated for theft of $11,000 from a man that year. The driver of the second vehicle in the crash was taken to the hospital for minor injuries. Federal prosecutors said they used their authority to rob suspects of drugs and money. One officer routinely carried a BB gun as insurance, knowing he could always drop it at a crime scene if he got into a jam by, say, shooting an unarmed suspect. BALTIMORE A Baltimore police officer caught on tape last year beating a suspect went to prison this year. A 2016 Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into the BPD found that significant levels of abuse and corruption within the department had gone on for years. For good measure, some cops in the unit stole scads of overtime from the city, at times even collecting it while they were on vacation. We are re-training, re-learning and re-teaching a better way to deliver police services here in Baltimore," Commissioner Michael Harrison said. | VIDEO BELOW: Family seeks justice from city after crash involving GTTF, Shirley Johnson on $6 million settlement with Baltimore City involving GTTF officer misconduct and 2010 crash that killed her father Elbert Davis Sr. and seriously injured her mother Phosa Cain who later died from her injuries. All but two remain in federal prison. It took decades for the cancer of corruption revealed in the GTTF scandal to spread as widely as it did and to sink its roots so deeply into BPD; it will take years for BPD to demonstrate, in both words and deeds, that it has zero tolerance for corruption and misconduct., Read more: Americas Policing System Is Broken. city agreed to a consent decree on sweeping police reforms. VideoAt the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, How fake copyright complaints are muzzling journalists, How 10% of Nigerian registered voters delivered victory, Sake brewers toast big rise in global sales, The Indian-American CEO who wants to be US president, Blackpink lead top stars back on the road in Asia, Exploring the rigging claims in Nigeria's elections, 'Wales is in England' gaffe sparks TikToker's trip. In total, the GTTF is believed to have stolen at least $300,000, 43 pounds of marijuana, 800 grams of heroin, three kilos of cocaine, and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of jewelry. Hamilton said one of the officers knew he had won money gambling at a casino. The aftershocks of the GTTF scandal continue to be felt to this day. Jenifer Wicks, Taylors attorney, had accused the government of building a conspiracy case with witnesses plucked from the depths of the criminal underworld, according to WBAL-TV. It also includes officers sentenced to prison and officers who have been suspended without additional information provided by the department. Marlon Koushall arrested a fellow police sergeant, Middleton was originally charged with assault, but charges were dropped, Troy Snell, a former police officer in Baltimore and Philadelphia, Baltimore city Police Captain Darryl Murphy, Robert Quick, a Baltimore police lieutenant, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. Court records, sentencing memorandums and Baltimore Sun archives show that at least 20 Baltimore police officers including some who are no longer with the department were either charged, sentenced, or suspended during 2019. In 2015, Hersl more than doubled his salary in part from fraudulent overtime claims. Convicted task force members testified that they stole the house keys of a man named Oreese Stevenson in March 2016, The Baltimore Sun reported. This is not about aggressive policing, it is a criminal conspiracy, Rod Rosenstein, the former US Attorney for Maryland said in 2017 when the officers were charged. The GTTF Scandal. Shop Our Favorite February Amazon Deals Before the Sales End, The 14 Best Mineral Sunscreens of 2023, According to Pros, 14 TikTok-Famous Cleaning Products That Actually Work, According to Our Experts, 14 Best Healthier Candy Alternatives of 2023, According to Taste Tests. "We waited so long for justice. He testified under oath that he witnessed Yusuf Smith toss a handgun while running from officers on the Alameda in May 2018. The extent of the GTTF's reign of terror on the city of Baltimore became more widely known in 2017, when eight members of the unit were indicted on charges of extortion, robbery, racketeering,. On December 4, 2016, Jacome directed and participated in taking a 14 year-old boy from Langley Park to a wooded area outside Germantown, Maryland, and murdering him by repeated blows with a machete because Jacome suspected that the victim had provided information to the police about the gang. The corruption has cost Baltimore taxpayers more than $13 million in settlements with victims and hundreds of cases the corrupt officers worked on had to be thrown out. But most of the cops on the task force turned out to be every bit as gangster as the drug dealers and other criminals they were pursuing. Former Baltimore police officer Arthur Williams, 26, was found guilty of second-degree assault in June after body-camera footage that went viral showed him punching a man several times in East Baltimore on a sidewalk in 2018. They later realised they had taken the trash from the wrong house, but wrote up a fraudulent search warrant anyway. De Sousa was appointed as police commissioner by Ex-Mayor of Baltimore Catherine Pugh in January of 2018. He also stuck a gun in a womans face during a separate break-in in which guns, drugs, cash and jewelry were taken. A man named Ronald Hamilton testified that his car was stopped in 2016 by task force members, the station reported. Where are the disgraced Gun Trace Task Force officers now? Six other Baltimore police officers have pled guilty to similar charges. Retired Baltimore Police Sgt. Prosecutors said Gentil failed to yield to Miller walking across the street. A federal jury on Monday convicted two former members of a defunct Baltimore police gun task force in a corruption trial. Windows 11 update brings Bings chatbot to the desktop, Chinese state media calls out Elon Musk over coronavirus tweet, The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood, We Own This City: A True Story of Crime, Cops, and Corruption. 7 Baltimore officers accused of abusing power, robbing citizens. The conviction of King and Murray resulted from the Baltimore-based Stop Snitchin' campaign in which the two officers were identified on videotape for being involved in drug dealing. The officers, who were assigned to the BPDs public housing drug unit, were called out in the Stop Snitching underground video, with a man on the tape saying the officers looked out for certain drug dealers. Baltimore residents tell federal judge they're all for police reform. At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. The two were both acquitted of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, according to Morse. Two former Baltimore Police officers sentenced to a combined 454 years in federal prison for shaking down citizens in the early 2000s had their prison terms reduced to 20 years each by a federal judge Monday. I have . Read about our approach to external linking. Instead, its members were. A jury found Hersl guilty for his role in several robberies committed by the squad, including an incident where the officers took over $25,000 from a man's home without charging him a crime. The corruption has cost Baltimore taxpayers more than $13 million in settlements with victims and hundreds of cases the corrupt officers worked on had to be thrown out. The note was left in the wife's door. Ive got an entire pharmacy, the sergeant told Stepp. Fenton touches on the larger issues raised by the shocking activities of the Gun Trace Task Force members, but he doesnt linger there. Maurice Ward and Evodio Hendrix both got seven-year prison sentences. Burley's vehicle struck another, killing 86-year-old Elbert Davis in 2010. REPORTING LIVE FROM DOWNTOWN BALTIMORE, BARRY SIMMS WBAL TV 11 NEW. The family of Davis and Cain filed a lawsuit claiming civil rights violations, and the trial was set for May. Henrietta Middleton and faces up to 10 years in prison. Baltimore officials approved a $6 million payout in what is one of the city's largest settlements reached in the Gun Trace Task Force police misconduct case.The settlement goes to the family of a retired construction worker who was killed in a crash involving former Baltimore police officers who were part of the disbanded task force.Shirley Johnson and her brothers and sisters relied on patience as they sought an apology and accountability almost 13 years after a crash killed their father, Elbert Davis Sr., and seriously injured their mother, Phosa Cain. He told the jury that Jenkins instructed them to carry BB-guns in their police cars "in case you need to get yourself out of a situation" like shooting an unarmed suspect. Three juveniles were arrested Tuesday night after a high-speed chase that led officers across state lines. Each faces up to 60 years in prison. Prior to the Gun Trace Task Force case, the case of King and Murray was one of the highest-profile Baltimore police corruption cases. The department opened an investigation on Quick, who works for the Consent Decree Implementation Unit, but provided no specifics as to why. These guys had engaged in so much misconduct previously. The elite Baltimore cops who became criminals. Written by Baltimore Sun reporter Justin Fenton, the book tells the incredible tale of the corrupt Gun Trace Task Force, an elite plainclothes unit of the Baltimore Police Department tasked with getting guns and drugs off the streets. Evodio Hendrix, who pled guilty to charges, testified that the sergeant had all that stuff in the car in case he ran into a monster, someone with a lot of money and drugs, WBAL-TV reported. He now faces up to 10 years in prison. REPORTER: SOME OF THE OFFICERS INVOLVED IN THE TASK FORCE WERE CONVICTED IN FEDERAL COURT ON VARIOUS CHARGES. 8:24 PM EST, Mon February 12, 2018. Sergeant Thomas Allers, another supervisor, is serving a 15-year sentence in Florida and his release date is in June 2030. Sgt. Taylor was characterised at trial as the youngest and most inexperienced officer on the task force. Its unclear why they were granted early release. He re-sold the drugs through a bail bondsman, who testified that Jenkins would leave large amounts of marijuana, heroin and cocaine in a shed in his backyard on an almost nightly basis. REPORTER: SHIRLEY JOHNSON HER BROTHERS AND SISTERS RELIED ON PATIENCE NOW NEARLY 13 YEARS AFTER A HORRIFIC CRASH THAT KILLED THEIR FATHER ELBERT DAVIS SENIOR AND SERIOUSLY INJURED THEIR MOTHER PHOSA CAIN THEYVE REACHED A SETTLEMENT WITH BALTIMORE CITY. Meanwhile, the disputes that inevitably erupt between dealers, and the desperation of people addicted to drugs, help feed the violence that plagues Baltimores most vulnerable communities. "We didn't go above and beyond to make sure we were checking, to make sure that those people sworn to serve and protect hadn't turned themselves into the biggest gang in Baltimore," Scott said. 2. They targeted suspected drug dealers, carried fake weapons in case they shot an unarmed person to plant the weapon on them, and would re-sell the weapons and drugs that they stole to criminals. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our. Wayne Jenkins once showed squad members a grappling hook with a rope, sledgehammer, machete, masks and other items he kept in his patrol car while on duty. The First Step Act, passed by Congress and signed by President Trump in 2018, has led to a wave of sentence reductions, particularly in non-violent drug cases where defendants received lengthy sentences. Stay up to date on the news from Silicon Valley, and how to take back control of your data and devices. OSullivan remains suspended from the police force. In February former Baltimore police detective Momodu Gondo was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for racketeering and heroin distribution conspiracy, winning a reduced sentence after cooperating with the federal government. The U.S. Attorneys Office agreed that the sentences should be reduced, but to 30 years for Murray, and 65 years for King. The DOJ report came shortly after Grays killing sparked an uprising in the city and throughout the U.S. decrying police brutality and racial discrimination. Instead, a trial in federal court has revealed that the officers went rogue, and used their power to steal money, drugs and guns, and terrorise the people they stopped. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. Whether youre a lifelong resident of D.C. or you just moved here, weve got you covered. Please enter valid email address to continue. "It was a gut punch to the family, and they needed to stand up for their parents. A violent 2019 in the city was also a busy year for prosecutors, internal affairs detectives and others charged with policing Baltimores police. THEY NEEDED TO MAKE SURE THE CITY WAS HELD ACCOUNTABLE. Barry Simms. 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