These undated photos provided by the Baltimore Police Department show, from left, Daniel Hersl, Evodio Hendrix, Jemell Rayam, Marcus Taylor, Maurice Ward, Momodu Gando and Wayne Jenkins, the seven police officers who are facing charges of robbery, extortion and overtime fraud, and are accused of stealing money and drugs from victims, some of whom had not committed crimes. (Baltimore Police Department via AP)
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These undated photos provided by the Baltimore Police Department show, from left, Daniel Hersl, Evodio Hendrix, Jemell Rayam, Marcus Taylor, Maurice Ward, Momodu Gando and Wayne Jenkins, the seven police
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Photo: Uncredited, AP
U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein, back right, listens as Baltimore Police Department Commissioner Kevin Davis speaks at a news conference in Baltimore, Wednesday, March 1, 2017, to announce that seven Baltimore police officers who worked on a firearms crime task force are facing charges of stealing money, property and narcotics from people over two years.
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U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein, back right, listens as Baltimore Police Department Commissioner Kevin Davis speaks at a news conference in Baltimore, Wednesday, March 1, 2017, to
... more
Photo: Patrick Semansky, AP
U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein, right, speaks at a news conference in Baltimore, Wednesday, March 1, 2017, to announce that seven Baltimore police officers who worked on a firearms crime task force are facing charges of stealing money, property and narcotics from people over two years. Standing alongside Rosenstein is Baltimore Police Department Commissioner Kevin Davis.
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U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein, right, speaks at a news conference in Baltimore, Wednesday, March 1, 2017, to announce that seven Baltimore police officers who worked on a firearms
... more
Photo: Patrick Semansky, AP
Baltimore Police Department Commissioner Kevin Davis, center, shakes hands with U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein after a news conference in Baltimore, Wednesday, March 1, 2017, to announce that seven Baltimore police officers who worked on a firearms crime task force are facing charges of stealing money, property and narcotics from people over two years. Standing at left is Assistant Special Agent in Charge Don A. Hibbert of the DEA's Baltimore District Office.
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Baltimore Police Department Commissioner Kevin Davis, center, shakes hands with U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein after a news conference in Baltimore, Wednesday, March 1, 2017, to
... more
Photo: Patrick Semansky, AP
A board displaying a segment of the Baltimore Police Department's Police Code of Conduct stands alongside Baltimore Police Department Commissioner Kevin Davis as he speaks at a news conference in Baltimore, Wednesday, March 1, 2017, to announce that seven city police officers who worked on a firearms crime task force are facing charges of stealing money, property and narcotics from people over two years. Standing behind Davis are Assistant Special Agent in Charge Don A. Hibbert of the DEA's Baltimore District Office, back left, and Assistant Special Agent in Charge Scott M. Hinckley of the FBI's Baltimore District Office.
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A board displaying a segment of the Baltimore Police Department's Police Code of Conduct stands alongside Baltimore Police Department Commissioner Kevin Davis as he speaks at a news conference in Baltimore,
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Photo: Patrick Semansky, AP
A board displaying a segment of the Baltimore Police Department's Police Code of Conduct stands alongside Assistant Special Agent in Charge Don A. Hibbert of the DEA's Baltimore District Office, left, and Assistant Special Agent in Charge Scott M. Hinckley of the FBI's Baltimore District Office during a news conference in Baltimore, Wednesday, March 1, 2017, to announce that seven city police officers who worked on a firearms crime task force are facing charges of stealing money, property and narcotics from people over two years.
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A board displaying a segment of the Baltimore Police Department's Police Code of Conduct stands alongside Assistant Special Agent in Charge Don A. Hibbert of the DEA's Baltimore District Office, left, and
... more
Photo: Patrick Semansky, AP
Baltimore Police Department Commissioner Kevin Davis speaks at a news conference in Baltimore, Wednesday, March 1, 2017, to announce that seven Baltimore police officers who worked on a firearms crime task force are facing charges of stealing money, property and narcotics from people over two years. Standing behind Davis are U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein, from back left, Assistant Special Agent in Charge Don A. Hibbert of the DEA's Baltimore District Office and Assistant Special Agent in Charge Scott M. Hinckley of the FBI's Baltimore District Office.
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Baltimore Police Department Commissioner Kevin Davis speaks at a news conference in Baltimore, Wednesday, March 1, 2017, to announce that seven Baltimore police officers who worked on a firearms crime task
... more
Photo: Patrick Semansky, AP
U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein speaks at a news conference in Baltimore, Wednesday, March 1, 2017, to announce that seven Baltimore police officers who worked on a firearms crime task force are facing charges of stealing money, property and narcotics from people over two years. Standing behind Rosenstein at left is Baltimore Police Department Commissioner Kevin Davis.
less
U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein speaks at a news conference in Baltimore, Wednesday, March 1, 2017, to announce that seven Baltimore police officers who worked on a firearms crime
... more
Photo: Patrick Semansky, AP
Baltimore Police Department Commissioner Kevin Davis, back left, listens as U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein speaks at a news conference in Baltimore, Wednesday, March 1, 2017, to announce that seven Baltimore police officers who worked on a firearms crime task force are facing charges of stealing money, property and narcotics from people over two years.
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Baltimore Police Department Commissioner Kevin Davis, back left, listens as U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein speaks at a news conference in Baltimore, Wednesday, March 1, 2017, to
... more
Photo: Patrick Semansky, AP
This undated photo provided by the Baltimore Police Department shows Momodu Gando, one of seven police officers who worked together on a firearms crime task force who are charged with stealing money, property and narcotics from people over the course of two years. (Baltimore Police Department via AP)
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This undated photo provided by the Baltimore Police Department shows Momodu Gando, one of seven police officers who worked together on a firearms crime task force who are charged with stealing money, property
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Photo: Uncredited, AP
This undated photo provided by the Baltimore Police Department shows Wayne Jenkins, one of seven police officers who worked together on a firearms crime task force who are charged with stealing money, property and narcotics from people over the course of two years. (Baltimore Police Department via AP)
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This undated photo provided by the Baltimore Police Department shows Wayne Jenkins, one of seven police officers who worked together on a firearms crime task force who are charged with stealing money, property
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Photo: Uncredited, AP
This undated photo provided by the Baltimore Police Department shows Maurice Ward, one of seven police officers who worked together on a firearms crime task force who are charged with stealing money, property and narcotics from people over the course of two years. (Baltimore Police Department via AP)
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This undated photo provided by the Baltimore Police Department shows Maurice Ward, one of seven police officers who worked together on a firearms crime task force who are charged with stealing money, property
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Photo: Uncredited, AP
This undated photo provided by the Baltimore Police Department shows Marcus Taylor, one of seven police officers who worked together on a firearms crime task force who are charged with stealing money, property and narcotics from people over the course of two years. (Baltimore Police Department via AP)
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This undated photo provided by the Baltimore Police Department shows Marcus Taylor, one of seven police officers who worked together on a firearms crime task force who are charged with stealing money, property
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Photo: Uncredited, AP
This undated photo provided by the Baltimore Police Department shows Jemell Rayam, one of seven police officers who worked together on a firearms crime task force who are charged with stealing money, property and narcotics from people over the course of two years. (Baltimore Police Department via AP)
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This undated photo provided by the Baltimore Police Department shows Jemell Rayam, one of seven police officers who worked together on a firearms crime task force who are charged with stealing money, property
... more
Photo: Uncredited, AP
This undated photo provided by the Baltimore Police Department shows Daniel Hersl, one of seven police officers who worked together on a firearms crime task force who are charged with stealing money, property and narcotics from people over the course of two years. (Baltimore Police Department via AP)
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This undated photo provided by the Baltimore Police Department shows Daniel Hersl, one of seven police officers who worked together on a firearms crime task force who are charged with stealing money, property
... more
Photo: Uncredited, AP
This undated photo provided by the Baltimore Police Department shows Evodio Hendrix, one of seven police officers who worked together on a firearms crime task force who are charged with stealing money, property and narcotics from people over the course of two years. (Baltimore Police Department via AP)
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This undated photo provided by the Baltimore Police Department shows Evodio Hendrix, one of seven police officers who worked together on a firearms crime task force who are charged with stealing money, property
... more
Photo: Uncredited, AP
Police: Indicted Baltimore officers '1930s-style gangsters'
BALTIMORE (AP) — Seven Baltimore officers were so unfazed by U.S. Justice Department scrutiny of abusive policing that they kept falsely detaining people, stealing their money and property, and faking reports to cover it up, according to a damning federal indictment.
Federal prosecutors announced charges Wednesday against seven officers in Baltimore, where a consent decree approved in the final days of the Obama administration obligates police to stop abusive tactics and discriminatory practices, including unlawful stops of drivers and pedestrians.
U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein said the investigation began about a year ago, and that his office has "quietly dropped" five federal cases brought by one or more of the officers. In a statement, State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby said the charges will have "pervasive implications on numerous active investigations and pending cases."
The announcement comes just one day after newly minted Attorney General Jeff Sessions indicated that intense federal scrutiny of police might hinder their crime-fighting ability. Sessions suggested that his Justice Department might "pull back" from civil rights investigations involving police departments.
Rosenstein has been nominated for deputy attorney general.
"I know the attorney general is committed to prosecuting criminals, whether they're in police organizations or anyplace else, so I'm confident we have his support," Rosenstein said.
The indictment describes a criminal enterprise that began in 2015, when the city was rocked by civil unrest after the death of a young black man, Freddie Gray, in police custody that April. Weeks later, the Justice Department began a "pattern and practice" investigation of the city's police force. Intense reform efforts followed, including the expanded use of cameras to record police interactions.
In August 2016, the Justice Department released a scathing report detailing systemic failures, including excessive use of force, illegal stops, inadequate oversight and a dearth of training.
By then, federal agents had spent months following officers assigned to the Gun Trace Task Force, a squad formed to reduce violent crime by tracking and removing illegal guns from the streets.
The officers charged with racketeering are detectives Momodu Gondo, Evodio Hendrix, Daniel Hersl, Wayne Jenkins, Jemell Rayam, Marcus Taylor and Maurice Ward. Gondo also is charged with participating in a drug conspiracy. All were arrested, suspended without pay and jailed overnight pending detention hearings Thursday.
These officers "arrogantly" ignored clear directives, Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said.
In September 2016, Gondo was recorded telling Rayam he had switched off his body camera before hitting a cellphone out of a woman's hand.
"I turned the camera off," Gondo said.
"Oh yeah, f(asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk) that s(asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk)," Rayam said. "So, basically it's like you were never here."
The explosive indictment reads more like a Hollywood movie script than a routine charging document, as the feds followed what they described as a squad of renegade officers committing brazen robberies and staging cover-ups to avoid detection by their supervisors.
"These officers are 1930s-style gangsters," Davis said. "They betrayed the trust we're trying to build with our community at a very sensitive time in our history."
Those scenes included:
— Three of the officers stopped a man on the street, searched his car without a warrant, took him home and stole $1,500 he had earned working as a maintenance supervisor at a nursing home. Rayam then allegedly wrote a false incident report, not mentioning the stolen money, and Jenkins approved it.
— Five of the officers stopped a man leaving a storage facility, lied that they had a search warrant, and then stole $2,000 from a sock containing $4,800. Federal authorities were listening: Inside an electronically surveilled police car, Rayam was recorded telling Gondo he'd only "taxed" the man "a little bit."
— Four of the officers arrested a man during a traffic stop and confiscated drugs and $21,500 but turned only $15,000 over as evidence. Then they went to the man's home and stole $200,000 and a $4,000 wristwatch from a safe deposit box.
The officers also routinely filed for overtime pay for hours they didn't work, the documents allege. Jenkins filed for five days when he was on vacation with his family, and other officers discussed going to a casino or a bar on days when they filed for overtime pay.
Rosenstein also announced a second indictment charging a drug conspiracy. In it, Gondo is accused of dealing drugs and protecting his operation by tipping off drug dealers about law-enforcement tactics.
"This is not about aggressive policing; it is about criminal conspiracy," Rosenstein said.
Davis acknowledged that much work must be done to right wrongs inside the department.
"We wouldn't be under a consent decree if we didn't have issues," he said. "We have issues."
Davis said other officers weren't surprised when they learned who was indicted, because several of them have been the subject of numerous misconduct complaints and civil lawsuits alleging abuse.
Gene Ryan, Baltimore's police union president, issued a statement saying he's "disturbed" by the charges. He declined to make other comments.
DeRay Mckesson, a Black Lives Matter activist from Baltimore, said the charges are disturbing but also encouraging.
"It is promising to see the beginning of accountability being applied to the Baltimore Police Department," Mckesson said. "The indictments confirm what activists and community members have been saying for decades."