Article by FLN Staff.

Baltimore has issues; they already have record high homicide rates in the wake of high profile issues with their police. Now their cops are on trial all over again, this time for corruption. In testimony obtained by the Baltimore Sun, it seems that some Baltimore police plant fake guns on suspects.

Prosecutors allege that Baltimore police are both “cops and robbers” at the same time. Maurice Ward, a former member of Baltimore’s Gun Trace Task Force, told the jury that while on duty, he noticed that several of his colleagues kept BB guns and other fake weapons in their glove compartments. Ward claimed they kept the toys “in case we accidentally hit somebody or got into a shootout, so we could plant them,” Ward testified.

Although Ward didn’t say whether Baltimore cops had actually planted a fake gun, one of Ward’s fellow defendants, did have a fake gun in his glove compartment following a 2015 arrest. Six police officers have led guilty to racketeering, while two remain on trial for robbery and planting evidence. In another incident, officers entered a drug suspect home, stole $100,000 from a safe, then turned on a camera to pretend they were opening the safe for the first time.

Task force officers allegedly collaborated with a bail bondsman to confiscate and resell drugs. Witness testimony describes instances of stealing evidence and even falsifying warrants. The testimony reminds the reader of why the regulation of guns and even narcotics can create more criminals than it stops, and why the police should be scrutinized, as their authority is easily abused.

Image Credit: By Jamelle Bouie [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons