A Baltimore police unit has systematically robbed suspects, and sold confiscated dugs for years.
Two officers of the Baltimore Gun Trace Task Force have been found guilty past monday of armed robbery, extortion, embezzlement of government funds, and a list of other crimes.
They can face up to 60 years in prison.
According to the prosecutor, the members of the GTTF operated as both police and robbers at the same time.
The unit's task was to keep weapons from falling into criminal hands, but the officers mainly used their authority to extort and rob black people living in Baltimore.
One of the two convicted cops, Marcus Taylkor, participated on a raid where the team stole 100k dollars in cash. They took the suspect's home keys, entered his appartment, and found a safe in the cellar with 200k cash. They took it, put 100k back, and then proceeded to make a video acting like they just discovered the safe.
In the same way they robbed a lot of crime suspects. The victims were too afraid, or too criminal to report it to the police.
On a few occasions however, they also robbed completely innocent people. A married couple lost 20k, when they were wrongfully placed under arrest and their home was ransacked for money.
Six other members of the squad had already plead guilty, in exchange for reduced sentence.
Some of those testified against their colleagues. They testified to searching homes without a warrant, and driving groups of people apart using their cars, to arrest and search them.
They also testified to selling confiscated drugs, without fear of getting caught. "It was all part of our culture".
The officers furthermore earned extra money by acting as security guards during drug deals, and by declaring overtime while they were in fact in the pub, or on holidays.
They also planted drugs and illegal firearms in people's homes to extort them.
https://www.volkskrant.nl/buitenland/corrupte-agenten-baltimore-veroordeeld-voor-het-bestelen-van-verdachten-en-doorverkopen-van-drugs~a4569372/