Baltimore Police Department/Wikimedia/Tyler178A huge trial is underway in Baltimore right now which is revealing the disturbing practices of some of the city’s most senior police officers.
During the trial in Maryland city, some of the boys in blue admitted to stealing money, jewellery, drugs and weapons – as well as charging for overtime hours they never worked, according to The Washington Post.
GettyThe Gun Trace Task Force has reportedly stolen more than $300,000, over three kilos of cocaine, 43 pounds of marijuana, 800 grams of heroin and countless watches from drug dealers and civilians alike.
The explosive trial exposing the corruption in Baltimore’s elite task force has even revealed how the group carried replicas and BB guns ‘in case we accidentally hit somebody or got into a shootout, so we could plant them’, according to the officers who testified.
The revelation is one of many which have been uncovered as a result of the trial, but it’s one of the more troubling testimonies in light of the deaths of 12-year-old Tamir Rice back in 2014, who had a toy gun on him.
GettyIn fact, in two years, 86 people were killed in America with toy guns on their person, according to an investigation by The Post.
Six of the eight task force members have pleaded guilty to certain charges, but two have pleaded not guilty, with the other six testifying against them in court.
The cops even admit to putting illegal trackers on the cars of suspected dealers in order to rob their homes and sell any drugs or guns found on the property.
Wayne Jenkins, the sergeant of the squad, even carried brass knuckles and a machete in order to protect himself against a ‘monster’ dealer if they had to swindle them.
GettyIvan Bates, a defence attorney in Baltimore, said:
The police department knew what was going on. Everybody knew who they were…
The city is in chaos, the police department doesn’t work with the state’s attorney and they need to find any police who can make some arrests.
The activity was first uncovered by a DEA investigation which caught one of the officers talking to a drug dealer using a wire tap.
GettyThe State Attorney’s office reportedly estimated as many as 277 cases have been affected by the new indictments, with 125 cases being dropped entirely.
The group admitted to routinely ‘ignoring constitutional protections’ and entering homes without proper search warrants.
This affects the legality of pretty much every single collar which the group had an involvement in and when the group made a mistake, they would lie to cover up their tracks.
GettyOne of the officers admitted writing a false report relating to heroin which was planted in a car in 2010 after a high-speed chase which killed an elderly bystander.
Both men involved in the chase spent years in prison, one of whom was released in August, after serving half of his 15-year sentence.
