Though Donald Trump and Jeff Sessions want to convince the nation that we need increased and stricter law and order, those of us who have been watching with a critical eye know that it is police departments themselves that need more oversight and accountability. Sessions, however, isn’t entirely convinced—in fact, back in April he ordered the Justice Department to review its reform agreements with police departments around the country in order to make sure that they don’t diminish officer morale and safety. But officer morale seems to be just fine. When they aren’t being encouraged by current agitator-in-chief Donald Trump to be more violent with suspects during arrests, they are in the very departments that are supposed to be reforming their policing practices, doing quite illegal and unethical things.
In Baltimore, for instance, body camera video released in July showed an officer planting a bag of illegal drugs during an arrest back in January. And on Tuesday, the office of the Baltimore Public Defender released a fuller video, which appears to show other officers working together to plant evidence during the same arrest.
The [public defender’s] office on Monday said the video “appears to depict multiple officers working together to manufacture evidence.” On Tuesday, it said the footage — which is a series of body-camera videos — shows multiple officers thoroughly searching a car, including the driver’s area, and then turning their cameras off and back on in an unexplained way.
“When the cameras come back on one officer is seen squatting by the driver’s seat area. The group of officers then wait approximately 30 seconds,” the public defender’s office said in a statement. “Shortly thereafter, another officer asks if the area by that compartment has been searched. Nobody responds, and the officer reaches in and locates a bag that appears to contain drugs right by where the prior officer was, and where the car had been thoroughly searched about a half an hour prior with absolutely no results.”
As a reminder, Baltimore is one of the 14 cities around the country whose police departments have reform agreements, known as consent decrees, in place with the Justice Department. After the death of Freddie Gray, the DOJ began investigating the Baltimore police, and what they found was pretty damning. This included unconstitutional stops and searches, discrimination against blacks and strategies that unfairly targeted blacks, the use of excessive force and retaliation against those who engage in constitutionally protected free speech.
In short, the police department is a mess. And this only adds fuel to the fire. With officers planting evidence and suspiciously turning their body cameras on and off at random, right before they “find” evidence, this does not look good. It is so troubling and has damaged the credibility of the officers to the point that it has impacted many other cases with which they are involved.
Mosby said she has dropped 34 felony drug and gun cases against defendants that rely on the testimony of the officers featured in that video. She said 77 additional cases are under review, while 12 will move forward on the strength of independent, corroborative evidence.
The officers involved have been placed on administrative leave while the investigation continues. And the police union and state’s attorney, Marilyn Mosby, both urge the public not to rush to judgment before the investigation is concluded. But the damage is already done. Especially since there are multiple suspicious videos now being made public—one of which shows a gap in the video before the final recovery of additional drugs was recorded. T.J. Smith, a spokesperson for the police department, says “no officers have been reprimanded or had their status changed pending that investigation.” All in all, this will do nothing to change the Baltimore Police Department’s relationship with the community. Their credibility is irreparably damaged. And by not enforcing a consent decree and requiring some much needed changes in their practices and procedures, these structural issues will only get a lot worse.