Baltimore Police (Courtesy Photo via Twitter)

By Stephen Janis
Special to the AFRO

Members of the corrupt police unit known as the Gun Trace Task Force (GTTF) may all be behind bars, but the price of their misdeeds continue to mount as the city settles lawsuits filed by their victims.  

Last week the city’s spending board approved more than $10.5 million in payouts to settle claims by victims of the unit’s illegal tactics. The largest, roughly $6 million, was paid to Umar Bradley and Brent Matthews.

The duo was chased by GTTF member Wayne Jenkins after he tried to rob them in June 2010.  The pursuit led to a car accident which killed 86-year-old Elbert Davis, the father of a Baltimore City police officer.

After the accident, Jenkins planted drugs in their car and both served roughly six years in federal prison. The settlement in federal court was approved by the Board of Estimates, the city spending board.

The most recent payouts raise the total percentage for the GTTF’s misdeed to roughly $13 million for the group of roughly nine officers who regularly robbed residents, dealt drugs and stole overtime. The fallout from the elite units’ actions continue to roil a city trying to reform a police department amid a stubbornly high crime rate.  

Initially, the city tried to evade financial responsibility for their actions before the state’s highest court, arguing that the once heavily touted unit was instead a group of rogue cops.

But the Maryland Court of Special Appeals took exception to the city’s plea, arguing the department’s command staff should have been aware that the specialized unit was corrupt.

“Given the seriousness of the conspiracy, the length of time of the conspiracy, the number of former members of The Gun Trace Task Force who participated in the conspiracy, it is reasonable to conclude the department should have known of the misconduct,” the court wrote in the ruling. 

That ruling applied to judgments won by two plaintiffs, Ivan Potts and the estate of William James. Both men were wrongfully arrested by members of the GTTF after members of the unit planted guns on them. Both settled for judgments totaling $32,000 per officer. 

For many city leaders, the most recent payouts only heighten the need for comprehensive reform.

State Senator Jill Carter, who plans to introduce several police reform bills during the upcoming legislative session said the payouts are another reminder how far the city has to go to right the department.

“The city should have known what was going on based upon the number of bad acts and the length of time they continued,” Sen. Carter said.

Among the legislation Sen. Carter is seeking to pass are new laws to ban chokeholds and make internal disciplinary records public. 

But key to her efforts is a bill she says might prevent a future GTTF from taking hold within the department. The measure would obligate officers to report misconduct within the ranks if they witness it and offer them whistleblower protection if they do.

“We’ve seen case after case where lives could have been saved had officers intervened rather than watch and stand by,” she added.