By A.F. James MacArthur
MacArthurMedia@gmail.com
There's an ongoing, elaborate, active effort of evasiveness, by the Baltimore Police Department to keep bad information about its officers from ever seeing the late of day. Sure, every so often a sacrificial lamb is offered up to satisfy those who only observe the surface, but deep below lurks a murky pit of deception and deceit.
On the record, the department will say they're committed to transparency and accountability, but for anyone attempting in-depth coverage of the agency, reality rings different. In many cases, when a situation occurs, depending on upon who the officer is and his or her internal alliances and affiliations, a whole system of misdirection and suppression, in attempts to cover the indiscretion is activated. By the time information is released to the media, the red herring has already been smeared across the trail, and the foul scent leads the hounds astray and away from the truth.
In up coming reports, we'll attempt to dismantle and untangle the sticky web, where what should be public information, goes to die. There's at least a half dozen cases you've probably never heard of, we will do our best to expose.
From questionable shootings of civilians, to dangerous high speed chases, faked injuries and fraudulent workmens compensation claims, and even domestic abuse perpetrated by officers, there's a lot more going on with an agency charged to protect and serve us, than you would ever know from following Baltmore's mainstream media.
Under the guise of "personnel matters," shields are raised, while misdeeds manage to burrow further down the rabbit hole. Anyone doubting this should look up the published record of what we now know of former Baltimore Police Officer Gahiji Tshamba. Before killing an unarmed Marine in a drunken off-duty night club incident, he was involved in numerous alcohol fueled altercations, including crashing his car, destroying a gas station, and shooting other unarmed civilians who happened to survive, all the while being allowed to remain on the job.His case, while startling, is only the tip of the iceberg, but should serve as an illustration of how misconduct, even rising to the level of criminal acts, have not been a disqualifier for continued employment with the Baltimore Police Department.
With a newly sworn in Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake making overtures to maintaining open government in the city, the roadblocks continually thrown in front independent investigative journalists tell a different story. As the Baltimore Spectator continues the quest of bringing you accurate and timely news and views not commonly heard, we'll see how Baltimore city and its agencies cooperate.
Baltimore Spectator On Twitter
TIP LINE: 410-205-NEWS (6397) Voice/Text capable
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Committed to holding those in authority accountable, A.F. James MacArthur has personally investigated or initiated internal affairs inquiries on numerous public servants, resulting in a variety of punishments and sanctions of those who violate the public trust.