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Like their city, The Detroit Police Dept. is
falling apart.
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A.F. James MacArthur Ph.A.L.
Agitator-In-Chief
@BaltoSpectatorWhen a city goes downhill, morale plummets and it shows in many ways.
In the latest bit of bizarre criminal corruption coming out of Detroit, we learn of two police sergeants who went around posing as pretend cops beating and robbing people. One of the the two unidentified cops had 20 years on the job. We have to wonder how much of this supervisors moral defect was passed along to his subordinates during that time.
"Using a police officer’s badge and gun to commit crime is a particularly egregious threat to the community" Timothy Groh, FBI Special AgentOf course, this isn't the first time two Detroit Police officers were busted for pulling people over and robbing them. Maybe the sergeants learned from these two guys.
BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR COPS PRETENDING TO BE COPS
Police put the word out to citizens to be on the lookout for the poser cops, except as it turns out, there were actual cops caught doing this.
Corruption isn't new for the Detroit Police Department. Back when the yet-to-be-identified sergeants were considering joining the force, most likely due to how lucrative being a Detroit cop seemed to be, Police Chief William Hart, was convicted of stealing $2.6 million in taxpayer money over seven years. The money had been intended for undercover drug operations.
The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same
In 1991, The New York times told us; The conviction of [police chief] Mr. Hart, a 40-year veteran of the police department, concludes a painful chapter in Detroit's history that began with his indictment on Feb. 11, 1991, after a two-year Federal investigation into accusations of public corruption.
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| Chief Godbee, married, father, and ordained minister, pictured along side one of his female subordinates/sexual partners. |
It was just last year when their last Police Chief Ralph Godbee Jr. stepped down, after a sex scandal involving his relationship with an employee in the department's internal-affairs unit. The woman posted pictures on social media threatening to kill herself.
Let's not forget. The police chief immediately before Godbee, Warren Evans, also had to leave in disgrace. He too, was forced out for his own a sex scandal. Both chiefs Godbee and Evans had sexual affairs with the same female police subordinate.
Police corruption has deep roots. Once embedded in a department, it's not limited to just the isolated incidents of one or two bad cops, as better knowing spin masters would have you believe.
A careful examination of corrupt police departments, reveal clear habitual patterns of criminality across a broad spectrum of officers. From the chief on down, we see all sorts of misconduct. One just has to do a little research and the facts become self evident.
Baltimore Police Deviants (BPD), More Like Detroit Than You Want To Know
Not long ago, Baltimore saw a series of violent home-invasion, police impersonator, armed robberies. In one case, the supposed fake cops even shot a man. There's yet to be proof that we don't have rogue cops committing crimes here in Baltimore. After all, it's happened before. Remember when a Baltimore cop was caught driving the getaway car in an armed robbery?
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90 year old Venus Green won $95,000 in a police brutality settlement
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What about when Officer Daniel G. Redd, who ran a huge heroin distribution ring, was caught dealing dope right out the parking lot of the police station.
I'm sure you've already forgotten about William A. King and Antonio L. Murray, the two Baltimore Police officers sentenced to a total of 454 years in prison, after an FBI investigation in 2005. They used robbery, extortion, and excessive force against various drug dealers as a means of reselling confiscated drugs for profit on the street.
Not to be outdone by the fellas, Officer Ashley Roane was recently arrested on drug charges. She too enjoyed taking part in drug deals while in the police uniform. Noticing a pattern yet?
The name Kendall Richburg may have already faded off public awareness. In case you forgot, he's the Baltimore cop who pleaded guilty to armed drug dealing earlier this year. Once part of a special enforcement unit at the northwestern police district, he was into everything, heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine and marijuana. A good summary of Officer Richburg's various Wire emulating exploits can be found here.
20 year Baltimore Police veteran Shawn Bryon Johnson, was recently arrested driving drunk, after crashing into a parked vehicle... with his kids in the car. After saying to arresting officers, “Just take me in, I’m over,” Johnson repeatedly expressed frustration with his work. Could his frustrations have been derived from spending two decades working in an organization filled with criminals, abuse and corruption?
Not Just About Drugs
Being a large and diverse department, the criminality of Baltimore cops isn't limited to narcotics.
Last February, Senior training Officer William S. Kern, shot and nearly killed police trainee Raymond Gray in the head. Kern was one of the organizers of an illegal, unauthorized, highly dangerous training exercise which involved trespassing on state property. Awaiting criminal charges, Gray alleges Kern intentionally shot him in the head, causing severe injuries, including the loss of an eye.
Six months after this writer was surrounded by police as a result of a raid conducted under false pretenses and many mistruths fed to the public and the press, including falsely terming the incident a "barricade situation," Baltimore Police were given a reminder of the type of situation that actually requires SWAT.
Tactically trained Officer James Smith, a former Army Ranger and 20 year veteran of the Baltimore Police Department, is still in jail awaiting trial. Smith barricaded himself in his house with his girlfriend, Kendra Diggs and their four-year-old son. Before things ended, Smith shot and killed Diggs, and also opened fire on responding police, his coworkers.
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Officer Lamin Manneh sought to supplement his income as a
Baltimore Police officer by pimping his wife.
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When this incident took place, given the brief history detailed above, it's hard to imagine there was any pride left in the department. Let's be honest here.
Anyone remember habitual child molester Officer Troy Jaquan Gee Sr.? He resigned from the Baltimore Police Department after being arrested for one of his numerous incidents of taking sexual liberties with a minor. No doubt, this copper has more offenses that he's probably just never been caught for.
Rookies Want In Too
Just days before his scheduled graduation from the police academy in March, Zachary Michael Mitchell of the Baltimore Police Department was arrested for assault. If this guy couldn't keep from breaking the law, being so close to becoming a full fledged cop, imagine what he might have been like given full power and authority.
Incidents Not Isolated
The cases listed above are just a small sampling of relatively recent examples from just one single department. But it should serve as a reality check to anyone not having a full grasp on just how deep police corruption in Baltimore really is. There exists many more cases, far too numerous to expound upon here. Were they all to be chronicled, just the Baltimore Police Department alone, could fill a whole book.
Currently, the investigation of the "in-custody death" of Tyrone West, whom witnesses say was beaten to death by Baltimore Police is still under way. Over a week after the fatal traffic stop, probable cause for the initial contact or a cause of death have yet to be released.
They're quick to tell you these incidents represent a minority of officers and are all "isolated" cases. The truth is, there's little basis to support this denial.
It's a long held belief by mental health professionals, that certain behavioral personality types are often drawn to positions of power and authority. If absolute power corrupts absolutely, the idea of law enforcement being filled with power hungry, abusive egotists, shouldn't draw such instant ire from folks who've done little to no research on the topic.
By no means a comprehensive examination of the subject, it is the hope of the author that this piece will open the readers eyes to the sheer volume of crimes by cops being committed. Even if quickly forgotten once they've fallen off the headlines, we must be careful to keep tab of the running tally. In the same manner a citizen would be judged by their criminal record and background, police departments must be looked at by the historical tally and totality of their misdeeds as well.
There mere presence of a "clean" background -- a primary prerequisite to becoming a police officer -- is a poor judge of moral character and likelihood of a candidate not becoming a corrupt cop. Many people having no criminal records, possess some of the sickest, most twisted criminally deviant minds, and merely have not yet been caught committing crime. This doesn't mean they haven't, or they won't.
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Researcher, independent investigative journalist, and entrepreneur, A.F. James MacArthur has been a member of the underground news network for nearly over 20 years.
Email MacArthurMedia@gmail.com, @BaltoSpectator on twitter, Spreaker web radio, BlogTalk Radio, Baltimore Spectator on Facebook,YouTube channel
