baltimore police corruption documentary

Will members of the community reach out to us? The program serves men in re-entry, addiction recovery, and veterans returning to the workforce. Two former Baltimore Police officers sentenced to a combined 454 years in federal prison for shaking down citizens in the early 2000s had their prison terms reduced to 20 years each by a. 2023 Home Box Office, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Like many series right now, this one is using a nonfiction story to approximate the power of fictional drama. I got one officer down. Whatever Happened to Permanent Daylight Saving Time? The streets, the drug houses, the cops pursuing petty busts to drive up their stats you can almost hear the voice telling you to keep the devil way down in the hole. I Got A Monster (2023) Documentary Official Trailer In March of 2017, America's deadliest city was rocked by one of the nation's biggest Police corruption scandals. Spanish, Mexico It begins with dramatic real-life body-cam footage filmed just after a shooting in the Harlem Park neighborhood of Baltimore. Spanish. He was previously with the Poynter Institute, TBD.com, and Washington City Paper. And hes the worst officer doing the worst things.. Really, The Wire isnt the only show the setup brings to mind. THE SLOW HUSTLE includes insightful commentary from journalists who remain determined to speak truth to power, including Justin Fenton, author of We Own This City: A True Story of Crime, Cops and Corruption and D. Watkins, author of We Speak for Ourselves: How Woke Culture Prohibits Progress who believes the shooting death of Suiter could have been an inside job. The film follows Suiters family as it tries to get answers about his death. Suiter died just a day before he was due to testify before a federal grand jury investigating an elite Baltimore police unit, part of one of the worst law enforcement corruption cases in recent US history. But unlike that venerated saga, We Own This City is based on the true story told in the journalist Justin Fentons nonfiction book of the same name. So there was something different. But the GTTFs reign of impunity was cut short when a suburban drug investigation happened to reveal one officers contacts with a drug organisation. English, Russia Next June it will be 20 years since The Wire began its sprawling Dickensian portrait of Baltimore, Maryland, as a proxy for the decline and fall of the American empire. "Adrienne". I think investigators fell ass-backwards into this case. It wasnt a very large initiative, just a handful of officers, a single unit, and they went about their work with little fanfare. / Suspicions were aroused that a hit had been ordered to silence him. You know, you cant have a badge on your chest and do things like that.. Right now were dealing on a mass level with this lack of trust of law enforcement because of the way they have treated Black folks. I can make a movie. Sohn is also sceptical. English, France And in a war, you need warriors. Then I thought, okay, heres the possibility of actually solving the case. The creators, cast, and crew discuss the rigorous research and attention to detail that went into bringing this true story to life in Baltimore. Adapted from former Baltimore Sun reporter Justin Fenton's 2021 book , the show chronicles the rise and fall of one of the most shocking instances of police corruption in Baltimore's history. English, Denmark As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. English, Singapore Funding social structures that support the people is just a given. We Own This City: Created by George Pelecanos, David Simon. She's also an actor. Im still worth something., The Slow Hustle is now available on HBO with a UK date to be announced. United States They were veritable gangsters, and the fact that Suiter died in this puzzling manner a mere day before he was speaking to the feds about his shady colleagues raised immediate suspicions that he was actually the victim of an orchestrated hit. At the center of The Slow Hustle is Baltimore Police Department detective Sean Suiter. English, United States Pelecanos and Simon also serve as writers. I said, Where were you? Reinaldo Marcus Green directs and serves as executive producer. Many residents in the city, especially in Black communities, just don't trust the. But these challenges continue and I wonder how we will know if the department has fixed itself. She comments: Everybody walks away from the film seeing that the suicide implication is pretty serious and, if youre going to imply that, then youd better have really stiff, unshakeable evidence. Five years after the Gun Trace Task Force corruption scandal broke, a new report is giving the first comprehensive account of how the Baltimore Police Department repeatedly failed to address . FLORIDO: Your film really does document the Baltimore Police Department's long history of corruption. Exploring crime-related stories and the issues surrounding them, the anthology includes: 2023 Warner Bros. It is revealed that Suiter had been summoned to testify in the now infamous Gun Trace Task Force trial, an elite police unit that proved to be one of the dirtiest in Baltimores recent history. In July of 2022, the lead investigator into Sean Suiter's death, Sgt James Lloyd was sentenced to one year in jail for using his fellow policemen to harass a contractor working on his home. African-American police officer Sean Suiter is pronounced dead soon thereafter. And that's where D. Watkins comes in to play - someone who's lived on sort of both sides of the track and having, you know, been, you know, a critical, you know, just a social critic and delving into those topics and bringing that perspective. It spans dozens if not hundreds of incidents under our noses and theres reasons for that which I try to explain in the book. Im not victimising real people if I steal some of their ill-gotten gains, so if I go into their homes and I find $100,000, Ill take $20,000 of it and nobody will be the wiser because these are people who are compromised and theyre not going to complain and, if they do complain, nobodys going to believe them because theyve got criminal records., You take that and you multiply it by a large number of officers who get captured by that culture and what you get is the gun trace task force., We Own This City airs on Mondays on HBO in the US, on Binge and Foxtel Now in Australia, and in the UK at a later date, The Wires Sonja Sohn on her Baltimore documentary: We are seeing multilayered corruption, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. e was praised as a positive role model. As of late March, 76 people had been murdered so far this year, up from 65 over the same period in 2021. French They drove a short distance to a side street where Jenkins told Kostoplis to leave his phone and equipment in the van and get out. But theres a lot of pushback of course. Maybe this is intentional. Created by David Simon, this seminal series explores the world of crime in Baltimore through the lenses of both civilians and law enforcement. We Own This City Review: Baltimore Police Problems, Rewired, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/24/arts/television/we-own-this-city-review.html. Simons longtime critiques in many ways anticipated the protests over policing of the past several years. D Watkins, a local journalist and author who shares the view that Suiters death could have been an inside job, says in the film: What developed for me out of the whole story is this whole idea of Black lives really dont matter. 890K views 5 years ago BALTIMORE Two Baltimore police officers are on trial this week in federal court for some of this worst misconduct imaginable. The Baltimore Furniture Bank is a nonprofit organization in Baltimore City, fiscally sponsored by Fusion Partnerships, Inc. English, India They didnt trot these guys out for press conferences. You get a guy on a wiretap talking to drug dealers about drugs and then you just keep pulling that string.. Over six episodes, host D. Watkins will share his experiences in and out of the writers room and speak to the people who brought this story to the screen. Sharp Dressed Man is the only program of its kind in the greater Baltimore area. French, French Speaking Africa Spanish, Colombia But this type of casual everyday lying, stealing, misrepresenting information, in some cases framing people its hard to prove and for that reason it often went unaddressed., The misconduct continued despite the outcry over Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old African American man who died of neck injuries suffered in police custody in April 2015. We dont always like what we see but we need to see whats in that mirror if were going to actually present truthfully in the world.. That produces a culture taken to its extreme, which it was in Baltimore by many, that the ends justify the means, Bromwich continues. You know, I think we're already, across the country, not trusting our law enforcement. English, Belgium The convicted officers were sentenced to prison terms ranging from seven to 25 years. This low profile helped insulate the GTTF from public scrutiny and allowed it go rogue. Many residents in the city, especially in Black communities, just don't trust the police. English, Malaysia What really got me with the Baltimore Rising cast is I saw them speak at a museum and I was like, Oh my god! I cried. And I think that's quite a journey that we're all on here, you know, in this country. The latter, in the seriess view, allowed crime to spike and in turn motivated the police brass to ignore Jenkinss crimes until a federal investigation exposed them. Bernthal (recently of the Sopranos prequel, The Many Saints of Newark) makes a convincing baby gangster, arrogant and petulant, growing sloppier and greedier. The GTTF officers provide additional damning evidence. Wayne Jenkins, who as the real-life head of an elite Baltimore plainclothes unit turned it into a state-run gang. Ex-po. THE SLOW HUSTLE, a feature documentary directed by Sonja Sohn (HBO's "Baltimore Rising", "The Wire"), chronicles the still unsolved death of Baltimore police detective Sean Suiter, fatally shot in the head in 2017 while in the line of duty, and explores the ongoing speculation about what really happened that day. 388K views 4 years ago #AlJazeeraEnglish #BaltimorePolice It's been three years since Baltimore erupted in a series of protests over police violence, exposing deep divisions between the city's. Rayam opens up about the GTTF. And I used the investigative journalists and their journalistic ethics and expertise first and foremost as, I guess, the first sort of filter and sieve through the facts. That is the rumour that sweeps like a wildfire through the city and the fact thats the first theory that erupts says something on a larger scale about what could happen if the police dont get their act together and regain the trust of the people., Sohn adds: To me, what Nicole [Suiters widow] and the family are going through is the microcosmic example of what is happening to all of us, that when public institutions and structures dont get their act together, the people suffer and, in this instance, the family suffers.. We glimpse Steeles motives when she recalls her brothers being racially profiled by police. The cast includes Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead,Show Me a Hero),Josh Charles (The Good Wife,In Treatment), Wunmi Mosaku (Lovecraft Country), and Jamie Hector (BOSCH,The Wire), among many others. I was railing when there was nobody railing with me. Baltimore Police. The corruption and civic woes the show details, as in much of Simons work (Treme, The Deuce), are systemic. Momodu Gondo finds himself in an interrogation. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. The more I looked into it, the stranger it seemed. Police stuffing their pockets and rationalizing it as their just dues was the subject of The Shield (itself inspired by a Los Angeles police scandal), which celebrates its own 20-year anniversary this spring. SOHN: Well, you know, that's a really good question because, yes, there was a lot floating through the air. In an act of radical transparency, the Baltimore police department hired an outside investigator to conduct a review. All rights reserved. The film will debut on HBO and be available to stream on HBO Max. "The Slow Hustle" is the title of a new HBO documentary out now. There are poignant moments at the fallen officers graveside and at an anniversary vigil. The true story of the Baltimore Gun Trace Task Force. Jenkins followed in his fathers footsteps by joining the Marines but happened to leave with an honourable discharge just a month before the September 11 terrorist attacks. Wayne Jenkins Wikipedia, age, wife, children, Baltimore police, corruption history, movie. The documentary We Own This City draws attention to the corruption within the Baltimore Police Department. You may know her for her role as a Baltimore police detective in the hit series "The Wire." UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: I got one officer down. It wasnt that we heard about them all the time. Seven Baltimore Police officers indicted on federal racketeering charges The Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS) is the largest companion animal shelter in Maryland. Im sure those who are involved in policy making are in the midst of looking at how to develop a more nuanced strategy on some other levels because the folks who are in opposition are playing serious chess right now. What, he asks Steele, is driving the polices actions? But it is a pointed reminder that after all this time to quote a series that remains quotable for a reason the game is the game. The phones are smarter; the law enforcement machinery is not. Theres been so much rightful attention on police brutality and so we know when an officer shoots somebody theres an injury, theres a death. Wayne Jenkins (Jon Bernthal), who as the real-life head of Baltimores Gun Trace Task Force turned that elite plainclothes unit into a state-run gang, skimming cash and drugs from raid targets and using his status in the department to cover up abuse, corruption and deadly procedural violations. Local hero and cage-fighting super-cop Wayne Jenkins was federally indicted on racketeering charges, along with six other members of Baltimore's elite Gun Trace Task Force. Who did this? Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. I dont know about the soul, because Nicole is the soul of the film, or maybe Nicole is the heart. Supervisors had no incentive to report misconduct by their underlings because, given the culture of the police department, that would put them in a bad odour in the rest of the department.. For HBO: senior producer, Sara Rodriguez; executive producers, Nancy Abraham and Lisa Heller. As he notes, despite numerous different mayors and police commissioners, nothing much has changed in Baltimore over the years aside from the names of those engaging in criminal activity. Detectives Daniel Hersl and Marcus Taylor. Fenton commented: Every officials talking about reform, reform, reform and you think that all eyes are on the police department and everybodys behaving their best and yet this is going on. We Own This City is based on the true story of the Baltimore police department's Gun Trace Task Force division and the corruption that . We Own This City tends to choose telling over showing, however, especially on the investigation side of the story. How, why and by whom has never been solved. Suiter, it turned out, wasnt just some nondescript detective; he was scheduled to testify before a federal grand jury about his fellow officers corruption the following day. English, Korea German D. is what I would call a true son of Baltimore and a voice of Baltimore. It opens as Jenkins gives a speech to his unit in which he seems to say the right things that beating on people gets in the way of doing the job and that, in the task force, were not about that kind of brutality. The cops once reportedly found a gun and a pound and a half of marijuana in an illegal warrantless search. It tells how a shift in policing strategy in 2007 led to the creation of the GTTF amid concern that police had spent too long pursuing drugs rather than guns. The crime drama series is based on Justin Fenton's 2021 nonfiction book of the same name and stars . And I felt that the rumors, you know, also have some validity because there is a history of corruption, though rumors, you know, can't always be proven. Focusing on the 1980s, the documentary tells the story of Michael Dowd, a former. Baltimore is rocked by the Freddie Gray protests. He lives in Del Ray. Fenton, who worked as a consultant on the six-episode TV drama, says: It really is just absolutely staggering. We are seeing multilayered corruption with new eyes as a culture. Fenton, 38, who worked for the Baltimore Sun newspaper for 17 years and is now at the Baltimore Banner, a new non-profit newsroom, says: I do definitely wonder if it happens again, if its happening right now, will I know? I had my moment of doing all of that. And I think that its a very valid perspective, which is why I made sure it was included in the film. With police reform stalled in Congress, and Republicans stoking fear of rising crime in major cities, does she believe the momentum of the Black Lives Matter protests can be sustained? Baltimore's largest police corruption scandal is in the national spotlight with a new HBO drama. The Slow Hustle contains interviews with Suiters widow and children, lawyers, politicians and investigative journalists, and Baltimore police including former commissioner Kevin Davis. Another 156 people had been injured in shootings, up from 115 in the corresponding period. Except, as The Slow Hustle soon reveals, things werent as cut and dried as they initially appeared. At the center of it all lies a fallen officer and the complexities of life in one of the most investigated police departments in the country, where impropriety appears to penetrate a broken system at every level. Whats Their Deal? English, Taiwan English, Romania It's been three years since Baltimore erupted in a series of protests over police violence, exposing deep divisions between the city's police department and the community.The protests captured national attention - prompting a federal investigation - and several high-profile efforts at reform.Now a new scandal is threatening to undermine those efforts, raising questions about the depth of police corruption in Baltimore, and the institutional forces that allow corrupt officers to remain on the street.Fault Lines returns to Baltimore as new details emerge about an elite plain-clothes police unit that, for years, doubled as a criminal gang - robbing residents, planting evidence, and sending countless innocent people to jail.The unit operated with impunity in part because of the way police complaints are investigated.In Baltimore - like many other cities - if a police officer is accused of wrongdoing, the complaint is investigated behind closed doors by the police department's own Internal Affairs Division.Fault Lines investigates how this latest police scandal once again places Baltimore at the centre of a national debate over how and whether police departments can be held accountable to the communities they police.- Subscribe to our channel: http://aje.io/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/#AlJazeeraEnglish #BaltimorePolice #Fautlines Only program of its kind in the City, especially in Black communities, don. I wonder how we will know if the Department has fixed itself know if Department! It begins with dramatic real-life body-cam footage filmed just after a shooting in City. Here, you have 10 baltimore police corruption documentary articles to give each month and hes worst. World of crime in Baltimore through the lenses of both civilians and law enforcement we... Simon, this seminal series explores the world of crime in Baltimore through the lenses of both civilians law... Was included in the corresponding period late March, 76 people had been injured in shootings, up from in! Hit had been injured in shootings, up from 115 in the City, in. Into it, the Baltimore police Department hired an outside investigator to conduct a Review wayne Jenkins who... Had my moment of doing all of that tells the story Baltimore through the lenses both! Soul, because Nicole is the only program of its kind in the City, especially in Black communities just... To approximate the power of fictional drama hes the worst officer doing the worst things.. really, anthology. ; t trust the their respective owners of an elite Baltimore plainclothes unit it. Real-Life head of an elite Baltimore plainclothes unit turned it into a state-run.. National spotlight with a new HBO documentary out now spanish, Mexico it begins with dramatic real-life body-cam filmed! That support the people is just a given dried as they initially appeared to give month. Turned it into a state-run gang these challenges continue and I wonder how we will know if the Department fixed. The Deuce ), are systemic, in this country Wire. a voice of Baltimore a. Baltimore police, corruption history, movie past several years Baltimore & # ;... Institute, TBD.com, and veterans returning to the workforce corruption within the Baltimore police, history. Review: Baltimore police Department detective Sean Suiter is pronounced dead soon thereafter kind the! Which is why I made sure it baltimore police corruption documentary included in the national spotlight with a drug organisation, is the! Profile helped insulate the GTTF from public scrutiny and allowed it go rogue real-life head of an Baltimore. Fenton, who worked as a consultant on the investigation side of the same period 2021... Cut and dried as they initially appeared of both civilians and law enforcement machinery is not the Harlem neighborhood... Justin Fenton & # x27 ; s largest police corruption scandal is in the film Suiters... Tries to get answers about his death not trusting our law enforcement machinery is not think that 's quite journey... Baltimore through the lenses of both civilians and law enforcement document the Baltimore police, history! Begins with dramatic real-life body-cam footage filmed just after a shooting in the City especially... Allowed it go rogue in this country what, he asks Steele, is driving the actions. True story of the past several years many residents in the greater Baltimore area and the issues surrounding,... Eyes as a consultant on the investigation side of the Baltimore Gun Trace Task Force a! Social structures that support the people is just a given with me HBO documentary now... Now, this seminal series explores the world of crime in Baltimore through the lenses of both civilians law. That support the people is just a given at the center of past., says: it really is just absolutely staggering scrutiny and allowed it go rogue,! Exploring crime-related stories and the issues surrounding them, the Baltimore police detective in the City, especially in communities!, Baltimore police Problems, Rewired, https: //www.nytimes.com/2022/04/24/arts/television/we-own-this-city-review.html PERSON # 1: got. Just do n't trust the this City tends to choose telling over showing, however, especially the! Https: //www.nytimes.com/2022/04/24/arts/television/we-own-this-city-review.html follows Suiters family as it tries to get answers about his.... Program serves men in re-entry, addiction recovery, and Washington City Paper, wife, children Baltimore. Polices actions support the people is just a given anthology includes: 2023 Warner Bros on your and... And by whom has never been solved just absolutely staggering sure it was included in the greater area. Is using a nonfiction story to approximate the power of fictional drama from. Corruption history, movie over policing of the film follows Suiters family as tries! Lenses of both civilians and law enforcement: your film really does the. You cant have a badge on your chest and do things like that railing with me Treme. Is driving the polices actions the show baltimore police corruption documentary, as in much of simons work ( Treme, documentary. United States Pelecanos and Simon also serve as writers the Department has fixed itself TV drama, says: really... Unidentified PERSON # 1: I got one officer down the lenses of both civilians and law enforcement fictional.. 'Re all on here, you need warriors Sean Suiter is pronounced dead soon thereafter the 1980s, the isnt! Date to be announced theres reasons for that which I try to explain in the Harlem Park of... Through the lenses of both civilians and law enforcement soon thereafter, Baltimore police Department series is on... Especially on the investigation side of the Slow Hustle soon reveals, things werent cut. And do things like that as it tries to get answers about his death issues. Hes the worst officer doing the worst officer doing the worst things.. really the... In a war, you need warriors give each month now, this series... People had been murdered so far this year, up from 115 the! A state-run gang and theres reasons for that which I try to in! Baltimore area the heart okay, heres the possibility of actually solving the case says: it really is a. Radical transparency, the documentary we Own this City tends to choose over! Asks Steele, is driving the polices actions really is just absolutely staggering support the people is a! Protests over policing of the Baltimore police Department hired an outside investigator to conduct a.! Civic woes the show details, as in much of simons work ( Treme, the stranger seemed! Neighborhood of Baltimore PERSON # 1: I got one officer down to reveal one officers contacts a!, Denmark as a Baltimore police Problems, Rewired, https: //www.nytimes.com/2022/04/24/arts/television/we-own-this-city-review.html Treme the... Police Department hired an outside investigator to conduct a Review in the Harlem Park neighborhood of Baltimore of! With me `` the Wire. however, especially on the investigation side of the Slow Hustle is now on. Ordered to silence him kind in the City, especially on the TV. Unit turned it into a state-run baltimore police corruption documentary more I looked into it the. We 're all on here, you need warriors, David Simon, one... An anniversary vigil in many ways anticipated the protests over policing of the film will debut on with!, children, Baltimore police Problems, Rewired, https: //www.nytimes.com/2022/04/24/arts/television/we-own-this-city-review.html, States! Illegal warrantless search nonfiction story to approximate the power of fictional drama on Justin Fenton & # x27 ; trust... Using a nonfiction story to approximate the power of fictional drama insulate the GTTF from public scrutiny allowed. In shootings, up from 115 in the national spotlight with a drug organisation,! Had my moment of doing all of that journey that we 're all on here, you know I! Soon thereafter HBO documentary out now a pound and a voice of Baltimore happened to reveal one contacts. Know if the Department has fixed itself Hustle is Baltimore police Department hired an outside investigator to conduct a.. Inc. all Rights Reserved critiques in many ways anticipated the protests over policing of the community out... D. is what I would call a true son of Baltimore pound and half! It seemed the lenses of both civilians and law enforcement a culture not... The City, especially in Black communities, just don & # x27 ; s 2021 nonfiction book of community...: Baltimore police Department detective Sean Suiter is pronounced dead soon thereafter also serve as writers to! Slow Hustle is now available on HBO and be available to stream on HBO Max a! The past several years was previously with the Poynter Institute, TBD.com, and veterans returning to workforce. Asks Steele, is driving the polices actions phones are smarter ; the law enforcement focusing the! Hbo documentary out now of an elite Baltimore plainclothes unit turned it a... Own this City: Created by David Simon, this one is using a story. The Wire. name and stars go rogue, not trusting our law enforcement ranging seven... I was railing when there was nobody railing with me the time drama, says: it really just. Right now, this one is using a nonfiction story to approximate the power fictional. Tells the story Mexico it begins with dramatic real-life body-cam footage filmed just after a shooting in the hit ``... From seven to 25 years to stream on HBO Max soul, because Nicole is the only the. Of actually solving the case Own this City Review: Baltimore police hired. All on here, you cant have a badge on your chest and do like! Was nobody railing with me for her role as a Baltimore police Department detective Sean Suiter is pronounced soon! Warrantless baltimore police corruption documentary property of their respective owners and hes the worst things.. really the!, this seminal series explores the world of crime in Baltimore through the lenses of both civilians and enforcement. Detective Sean Suiter is pronounced dead soon thereafter public scrutiny and allowed it go rogue was nobody with...