Their work is not to be confused with undercover operations, in which police officers assume a different identity and worm their way into a criminal organization. Jenkins pleaded guilty in January and admitted taking part in at least 10 robberies of Baltimore citizens, planting drugs on innocent people and re-selling drugs he stole from suspects on an almost daily basis, including heroin, cocaine and prescription painkillers. "Right off the bat, we wasn't living lavishly. The indictment of Jenkins and six of his gun task force officers on federal racketeering charges rocked Baltimore when the announcement came in March 2017. They wanted to tell me that Jenkins was a dedicated father, a good football coach. On June 13, 2016, Jenkins became the Officer in Charge of the Gun Trace Task Force (GTTF,) a specialized unit within the Operational Investigation Division of the BPD. Stepp's moving on with his life - in a sense. He was also the ringleader of a criminal enterprise of police officers who were robbing people and dealing drugs. Weeks later, I search these locations myself to see if I can find anything. "It's a surreal story. The topic: Can we get Wayne Jenkins? The three prosecutors concluded the officer admired Jenkins work even as he may have been trying to protect the sergeant. The bag contained masks and other gear he used while stealing drugs and cash from people he and his team targeted. Would they report the incident? This series was supported by the Pulitzer Center. They said Jenkins instructed them to carry BB guns to plant on suspects to justify their actions if they made a mistake. He said he started dealing drugs at age 9, selling. "You have nightmares about police officers harassing you, beating you up, just locking you up, it's just a nightmare that I have and it basically hasn't gone away yet," he said. That's because in June 2018, Jenkins was sentenced to 25 years in prison. De Sousa, who later served as commissioner and is currently serving time on federal tax charges, says he doesnt remember the case. "an inmate in a federal prison," the robot finishes. Sergeant Wayne Jenkins, along with Detectives Marcus Taylor and Maurice Ward, intercepted a drug deal at the Belvedere Towers in Baltimore and seized about 20 to 25 pounds of marijuana as well as $20,000 to $25,000 in a second bag. "My dad would be alive today would it not be for his actions that day. As in the past, a video had surfaced that conflicted with the written account of a drug arrest by Jenkins and another officer. Correction 11 June 2018: This article has been amended to make clear that prosecutors pointed to how 1,700 criminal cases have been affected by the unit's corruption. The fallout of the squad's crimes is still rippling through the city and undoubtedly made Baltimore a less safe place for everyone who lives there. View all articles on the Gun Trace Task Force on The Baltimore Sun. I ask. It's no wonder people come out meaner than when they come in.". Some of the most upsetting conversations I had were with people who felt victimised twice -- by both the officers and by the criminals. Outside on the sidewalk, he saw a bunch of cops and yelled an expletive at one he knew who happened to be Jenkins supervisor. Credit: Baltimore Police Department, Its a Viking mentality: You go out into the field among the bad guys, and you bring back a bounty. Jenkins, who until his arrest was viewed within the Baltimore Police Department as one of its most high-performing officers, is serving 25 years in prison after he pleaded guilty in 2017 to. Why cant I be like this guy?. It was still daylight, and Jenkins opened a black and red duffel bag. Someone once told me that it will take a generation for the direct impact of the Gun Trace Task Force to start to fade, and it will be impossible to measure how the victims' trauma will play out in the lives of their children, families and friends. "And I remember taking the $10,000.". Another was to talk about how futile life inside the penal system is. "What chance do we have when you have people like Jenkins and his co-defendants fabricating evidence?". Jenkins winced as the handcuffs were placed on his wrists, and US Marshals led him out of a back door of the courtroom. Wayne Jenkins, ex-police sergeant, leading the Gun Trace Task Force Sergeant Wayne Jenkins was a decorated leader of the corrupt plain-clothes police unit in Baltimore whose detectives robbed . During the altercation, a passerby named George Sneed was assaulted by officer Robert Cirello who broke his jaw, leading Sneed to sue. I hoped it could spur a more honest discussion about what it's going to take to reform or even redefine what it means to be a cop in the US. Investigators recommended Jenkins be demoted and suspended without pay. Jenkins and members of his squad were praised for their work getting guns off the streets in an October 2016 police department newsletter. A lot of what he told me was much more systematic. "He's never been a true friend," Stepp says. The show briefly depicts Wayne Jenkins' wife in episode 5, and we are told that Wayne takes time off for the impending birth of his child. "I have no respect for him.". Just as she was completing her podcast series on the story, she got a very unexpected call from prison. The former ringleader of the Baltimore police Gun Trace Task Force and one of its detectives were sentenced Thursday to federal prison. And that's what I did.". These misconduct allegations came as Jenkins was serving in various plainclothes units well before his appointment in 2016 to head the Gun Trace Task Force, one of the departments most celebrated plainclothes squads. 2023 BBC. Barksdale, the former deputy commissioner who crafted department strategies from 2007 to 2012, leaned heavily on plainclothes units. He tells me that the first time he ever stole money, he was just a rookie. Prior to this, they'd been lauded as some of the best gun cops in the city - seizing dozens of illegal firearms every month, and demonstrating a "a work ethic that is beyond reproach", in the words of one supervisor. In Baltimore, theyre often referred to as knockers, a reference to their historically aggressive tactics. For the most part, these defendants decided it wasnt in their interest to tell government authorities that. Here is everything you need to know about the real Jenkins and where he is now. "It was a front for a criminal enterprise," Stepp said of the Gun Trace Task Force. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters, L-R: Former Baltimore police Sergeant Wayne Jenkins, and Jon Bernthal as Jenkins in HBO true-crime drama "We Own This City. The actions of former Baltimore police Sergeant Wayne Jenkins and his team of plain-clothed officers in the Gun Trace Task Force (GTTF) are explored in We Own This City. He is working on a book about the Gun Trace Task Force, to be published by Random House. Theres been plenty of times where the suspect has said, The drugs are in the car, and I go and I cant find them. In Justin Fenton's book We Own This City, on which the HBO series is based, the Baltimore Sun journalist explained that Jenkins would often be "caught in a lie" while giving evidence to a jury, but no complaints were put on his record. You will not be charged for this call. He thought Jenkins and Frieman might have been impersonating police. At OConnors trial, Fries remarked that the others were worthless and didnt meet the standards of the organized crime unit. They urged his supervisors to get him back to work and focused, according to an internal police department investigation conducted after the indictments. Even though we've known for weeks that Wayne Jenkins (Jon Bernthal), Daniel Hersl (Josh Charles), Jemell Rayam (Darrell Britt-Gibson) and the rest of Baltimore's Gun Trace Task Force were . Police who went rogue - Wayne Jenkins and Momodu Gondo, Jenkins, centre, before he took command of the Gun Trace Task Force, Clockwise from top left: Evodio Hendrix, Daniel Hersl, Jemell Rayam, Maurice Ward, Marcus Taylor, Momodu Gondo, Equipment that two of the GTTF officers testified was going to be used for home invasions, Donald Stepp inside Baltimore Police headquarters, in a photo taken by Wayne Jenkins, Shawn Whiting, centre, at a press conference held by victims of the GTTF. The outfit change is designed to allow them to blend in. Jenkins was developing a reputation within the department as a cop whose aggressive style brought results. In the bedroom, Jenkins says he and a veteran supervisor found a suitcase filled with tens of thousands of dollars in cash. Jenkins released the men and told them hed follow up with them later. The courtroom was also packed with Jenkins' family and friends. Wayne Jenkins is the leader of the rogue police unit in Baltimore who was sentenced to 25 years of prison in a corruption scandal prosecutors called "breathtaking". He was like King Kong, the officer, who still works for the police department, recalled. I'm standing in my pandemic "radio studio" - aka the closet in my apartment - surrounded by hangers holding button-up shirts and dresses. A squad of veteran police officers stood accused of committing numerous robberies, as well as extortion and overtime fraud. In 2010, when Deputy Commissioner Anthony Barksdale wanted a special squad to go after elusive suspects, Jenkins was picked for the group. On June 7, 2018, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison. VideoAt the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Havana Syndrome unlikely to have hostile cause - US, 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. He and six members of that unit now sit in federal prison for crimes including conspiracy, racketeering and robbery, all committed under the guise of legitimate police work. I dont know the nuances, what was said, what wasnt. The pair also stole valuables, like high-end wrist watches, in break-ins. Oh, yeah. It was his first public appearance since he was arrested along with six other officers last year. One officer held a nightstick across the drunken mans chest as Jenkins climbed on top of him and started swinging. It was in 2007 that Jenkins became a part of the GTTF, a new unit of plain-clothed officers focused on targeting suspected criminals believed to have big supplies of guns and drugs, in a bid to reduce the city's high murder rate. He states flatly that Jenkins is lying to me. Stepp turned everything over to the US prosecutors. Near Druid Hill Park, amid the shouting, sirens and buzzing choppers overhead, he commandeered a state prison department van and helped pull injured officers inside. "I'd rather be a prosecutor so I don't overkill people. When the officers circled back later, the two were still outside holding beers. In a 26 page letter hand written from his cell at the Federal Corrections institution in South Carolina, former Baltimore Police Sergeant Wayne Jenkins tells a judge that he saved a . But when the sun came up on 1 March 2017, the city awoke to a vastly different reality. In fact, it's highly likely - if not certain - that many of the people Jenkins' put in prison himself had those tactics used on them by prosecutors. Simon's new project will tell a fictionalised version of the Gun Trace Task Force saga, and began filming on the streets of Baltimore over the summer. In February 2017, Jenkins was charged with two counts of racketeering conspiracy; racketeering, aiding and abetting; racketeering; two counts of robbery and aiding and abetting; and two counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. He's even got a clothing line coming out around his defunct bail bond business, Double D Bail Bonds. Now, the recommended punishment was significant: a demotion, a transfer and suspension for 15 to 20 days, including a period without pay, Hill told the television network Al-Jazeera. It was there that the full extent of the officers' misconduct became public. In court, Ward apologised to the victims, to his family and to the Baltimore Police Department, as well as to his co-defendants. Hill said in the interview that De Sousa reduced the punishment to verbal counseling in effect, no punishment at all. In his plea deal, Jenkins admitted he planted heroin on Burley to try to justify the fatal collision. Then-Police Commissioner Anthony Batts had created a Force Investigation Team to inspire public trust that police leaders were keeping an eye on officers use of force. Even got a clothing line coming out around his defunct bail bond business, Double D Bonds. Come out meaner than when they come in. `` a true friend, '' Stepp said the. 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