Baltimore Police Are On Crack - TLS046

The LAVA Flow | Libertarian | Anarcho-capitalist | Voluntaryist | Agorist

The Baltimore police department has found themselves in a bit of trouble thanks to body cameras. What did they do now? This is the forty-sixth episode of The LAVA Spurt, Baltimore Police Are On Crack.

Twice in two weeks, the Baltimore public defender's office has released police body camera footage showing police officers planting drugs at scenes and then finding them. The first time the actual act of planting the drugs was caught on the camera because the officer clearly missed the briefing where he was told that the cameras were always on record but, when the record button was pushed, it kept the 30 second prior to the time the button was pushed. In that 30-second window, the officer planted drugs in a back alley and then walked out to the street with his cop buddies. He then pushed the button to start the recording and proceeds to go search for the drugs that he happens to find exactly where his camera showed him planting them. Imagine that shit.

The second video shows officers allegedly placing drugs in a car. The officers searched the scene, they said, after they supposedly witnessed a drug deal. In the video, the officers are shown thoroughly searching a car — apparently finding nothing. The cameras are then turned off. But they turn on a bit later, showing an officer squatting by the car. After a while, the officer backs off. Then 30 seconds later, another cop searches the same spot the officer was squatting at, and — suddenly! — finds a bag of drugs.

As of August 2nd, 41 cases have been dropped because the credibility of these involved officers is now in question. Apparently, over a hundred more are being reviewed, all of which are criminal cases that would have relied on testimony from the three officers that have been caught red-handed framing innocent citizens. The cases that have been dismissed involved drug-related felonies and weapons possession.

One of the three officers has been suspended and the other two were placed on administrative duty.