Two officers said he spoke openly about doing home invasions on high-level drug dealers that he called "monsters", because of the amount of drugs and cash he hoped they'd have stashed in their houses. Hed grown up in the working class suburb, where his father worked two jobs, including at Bethlehem Steel. The GTTF was made up of eight officers, all but one of whom were indicted. the dim light of the Baltimore Police Departments downtown nerve center, Sgt. Baltimore leaders have agreed to pay a $6 million settlement to the family of a driver who was killed during a 2010 police chase involving Gun Trace Task Force officers. Wayne Jenkins, who led the Gun Trace Task Force, was sentenced to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges including racketeering, robbery and falsifying records. "We said, 'You know, he's robbin' the pieces of shit of Baltimore that are the reason that me and my kids can't walk down the street and feel safe," he says. "Absolutely. Another was to talk about how futile life inside the penal system is. The conversation with Jenkins gets more complicated when we turn specifically to the crimes of the Gun Trace Task Force. I asked him if he thinks that another scandal is inevitable. Still, a yearlong investigation by The Baltimore Sun found warning signs that Wayne Jenkins wasnt such a good cop. But there was just enough room for doubt Sneed had been off camera briefly that Jenkins could argue the video didnt show the full story. In reality, he says, they were making arrests by any means necessary. Both men have requested new trials. Detective Marcus Taylor on Thursday was sentenced to 18 years in prison on racketeering charges, including robbery and overtime fraud. He resigned and the top spot at the Baltimore Police Department remains vacant. A few months after the OConnor incident, Jenkins was involved in another run-in where his sworn account was contradicted. When I saw the video, Webb later told The Sun, it didnt corroborate what was in the statement of probable cause at all.. "I felt comfortable with it because all the police officers that I met, which were many during the card games, in my opinion, they owned the city," Stepp would later tell the jury at the GTTF trial. Plainclothes officers must constantly be checked by leadership, Barksdale said, with commanders inquiring about irregularities in their work and excessive overtime pay. He took pictures of himself and Jenkins together inside the police department, where Stepp would sometimes pick up drugs. I ask this friend why he didn't say anything to anyone. I ask, slightly confused. Then 34, he was already an admired leader of aggressive street squads and would go on to head the elite Gun Trace Task Force, one of the Baltimore Police Department's go-to assets in the fight against violent crime. Former Baltimore Police Department Sergeant Wayne Jenkins, currently inmate number 62928-037 at a federal prison in Kentucky, is on the line. On June 7, 2018, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Claiming to be a DEA agent, Jenkins then confiscated the drugs and money but did not arrest the dealers. We Own This City airs Mondays at 9 p.m. In the police academy, his peers saw a leader. On the citys west side, officers were being pelted with bricks; some were hurt. And that is what they want, German said, according to an Internal Affairs report. One was that he felt he'd been railroaded into his plea agreement by the US prosecutors (the Maryland US Attorney's Office declined to comment). Critics argue Barksdale was among police leaders who fostered a warrior culture, to the citys detriment. I wasnt privy. I did give drugs to Donny for the last couple of years I was police, but I didn't take people's money because then they would know you were dirty. The idea that the Gun Trace Task Force went rogue simply because their sergeant was uniquely evil ignores all the systemic ways in which he was encouraged to operate the way he did, and the larger policing culture that supported him (it should also be noted that several of the squad's members started stealing money long before they joined the GTTF). What if a complaint was made? It was a red flag. In part due to his cooperation in the case, he received a much shorter sentence than the officers of the GTTF. In February 2017, Jenkins was charged with two counts of racketeering conspiracy; racketeering, aiding and abetting; racketeering; two counts of robbery and aiding and abetting; and two counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. The jury was shown axes, machetes and pry bars, as well as black masks that were found in Jenkins' van after his arrest. At trial, Jenkins and his boss denied any knowledge of who attacked OConnor. While it may seem incongruous that an officer would be hailed as a hero while racking up complaints, in the Baltimore Police Department it was not. This series was supported by the Pulitzer Center. In November 2012, Wayne Jenkins was promoted to the rank of sergeant giving him new authority and freedom. A lot of what he told me was much more systematic. "Wayne is truly sorry for his actions. "Seen it done, honest to god, 500 times.". A plea agreement is a document that lists specific criminal acts that the defendant is agreeing to plead guilty to. That made it very tempting when, sometime around 2011, Jenkins approached Stepp and suggested they go into business together. Homegrown commanders took pride in being known as having knockers. Jenkins was a decorated cop and had a reputation for his role in several high-profile drug busts. Nobody said yes or no, instead expressing ambivalence. "I fear nothing he knows or anything. Credit: Baltimore Police Department, Its a Viking mentality: You go out into the field among the bad guys, and you bring back a bounty. "We're not stupid. But Davis, Baltimores police commissioner from 2015 to 2018 and a veteran of two other departments, calls plainclothes units necessary and critical to the crime fight. They go looking for guns and drugs, he said, and often are successful. Burley was sentenced to 15 years in prison, which he was serving until federal prosecutors uncovered the task force's corruption and freed him. He also names two former supervisors who he says he complained to about his former subordinate officers, Momodu Gondo and Jemell Rayam, saying they had bad reputations for stealing money. It was still daylight, and Jenkins opened a black and red duffel bag. Wayne Jenkins is the leader of the rogue police unit in Baltimore who was sentenced to 25 years of prison in a corruption scandal prosecutors called "breathtaking". ', "If you've got to lie about what you've seen or what you heard or what you witnessed, as long as he's dirty, he's got the drugs and he's got the guns and he did the crimejust get him.". When the officers circled back later, the two were still outside holding beers. These misconduct allegations came as Jenkins was serving in various plainclothes units well before his appointment in 2016 to head the Gun Trace Task Force, one of the departments most celebrated plainclothes squads. Jenkins and members of his squad were praised for their work getting guns off the streets in an October 2016 police department newsletter. What had he gotten himself into? "It's a surreal story. He counters that the units helped bring down crime, and says he made it a point to scrutinize their conduct. Taxpayers footed the bill. "I swear, I wish I would have known before I ever put anyone in here I wish I would have known the other side," he says at one point. Many Baltimore residents had long distrusted the police, and more so after the death of Freddie Gray. Youve got to be willing to dig into their s--- and confront them, Barksdale said. In fact, it's highly likely - if not certain - that many of the people Jenkins' put in prison himself had those tactics used on them by prosecutors. Stepp and Jenkins' history runs deep. Jenkins said hed tried to be nice, but now they were going to jail. According to testimony from Ward and Hendrix, Jenkins played an outsized role in the schemes. Sergeant Wayne. "I deserve to be punished. The topic: Can we get Wayne Jenkins? Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters, L-R: Former Baltimore police Sergeant Wayne Jenkins, and Jon Bernthal as Jenkins in HBO true-crime drama "We Own This City. He is very remorseful.". Your digital subscription helps pay for The Baltimore Sun's investigative reporting. No one had called police to complain, but Jenkins and Fries told the men to go inside. The matter was referred to the police integrity unit of the Baltimore states attorneys office for investigation. "Immediately, we get together and you go over your story. "I thought it was a winner.". He has covered the Baltimore Police Department and crime in Baltimore since 2008. Jenkins pleaded guilty in January and admitted taking part in at least 10 robberies of Baltimore citizens, planting drugs on innocent people and re-selling drugs he stole from suspects on an. Jenkins signed a plea agreement in 2017 that detailed seven robberies that he participated in along with other members of the unit, as well as his drug dealing partnership with Donald Stepp, the former bail bondsman and cocaine dealer who testified at trial. Sergeant Wayne Jenkins, along with Detectives Marcus Taylor and Maurice Ward, intercepted a drug deal at the Belvedere Towers in Baltimore and seized about 20 to 25 pounds of marijuana as well as $20,000 to $25,000 in a second bag. Jenkins was stationed in North Carolina but often made the long trip back home to Middle River. Though Simon says he reported the incident to the police departments Internal Affairs office, he ultimately stopped cooperating on advice from his defense lawyer. The second declined to comment. They drive unmarked vehicles. And were not getting Jenkins.. Baltimore leaders have agreed to pay a $6 million settlement to the family of a driver who was killed during a 2010 police chase involving Gun Trace Task Force officers. Read more: Inside one of America's most corrupt police squads. I asked Wayne Jenkins several times why he wanted to do the interview with me. Jenkins names two specific locations where he says the drugs get tossed: a train bridge near the Eastern District police station, and a wooded highway off-ramp on the way to the Northern District police station. In the bedroom, Jenkins says he and a veteran supervisor found a suitcase filled with tens of thousands of dollars in cash. Wayne Jenkins was on a mission to find big dealers and steal their drugs and cash. 2023 BBC. The plaintiffs prevailed in three of them, either through a jury verdict or the citys decision to settle the case. In the gloom I see the number of the bureau of prisons light up my cell phone screen. In January 2018, a long list of victims took the stand - many of whom had ties to the drug trade - and told harrowing stories of how they were robbed by the officers during car stops and searches of their homes. Yes, I did," he says. Victims like Bumgardner and Whiting had the courage to speak out. Baltimore Sun reporter Justin Fenton spent a year delving into the operations of Wayne Jenkins and his officers, both as members of the Gun Trace Task Force and before. Jenkins had to affirm under oath in front of a federal judge that what the document said was true. The leaked case file doesnt say why. Their work is not to be confused with undercover operations, in which police officers assume a different identity and worm their way into a criminal organization. For example, in January 2006, Jenkins and Sergeant Michael Fries had an altercation with brothers Charles and Robert Lee after they continued to drink beer on the front step of their grandmother's home when the policemen had told them to stop. Many plainclothes units would work out of a satellite office inside a trailer in Northwest Baltimore. The leader of a rogue Baltimore police unit sobbed as he was sentenced to 25 years in prison in a corruption scandal prosecutors called "breathtaking". Arrest him, too, Jenkins yelled at the responding officers. ", Despite this happening more than once, Jenkins remained in his superiors' good books and when Fries was promoted in 2007 he decided to also give Jenkins a boost because he was "the best officer [he] had working under [his] command.". "Especially because we're short on time, is there anything that you kind of want to just say right off the bat?" HBO asked Stepp to be a consultant on the project, which he enthusiastically agreed to do. Prosecutors urged the judge to sentence him to the maximum 30 years, adding that the unit's corruption affected 1,700 criminal cases. That while the homicide rate was on a historic rise, this elite, eight-officer team was getting guns off the streets at an astonishing rate. Despite Jenkins bravado, the jury found in favor of OConnor and awarded $75,000. BALTIMORE The Baltimore City Board of Estimates paid out a $6 million settlement Wednesday to the family of a bystander who died during a police chase by the . If Wayne Jenkins asked you to come work for him, you felt honored, Ward said. "It's nothing I've ever imagined. I never heard back from the Baltimore Police Department. Donny made every piece of that up.". Jenkins pleaded guilty in January and admitted taking part in at least 10 robberies of Baltimore citizens, planting drugs on innocent people and re-selling drugs he stole from suspects on an almost daily basis, including heroin, cocaine and prescription painkillers. . Then 34, he was already an admired leader of aggressive street squads and would go on to head the elite Gun Trace Task Force, one of the Baltimore. Donald Stepp was released from federal prison back in January of this year. I got gangster charges, racketeering charges, things they usually give the mob, who were burying bodies in cement.". Plainclothes officers, as the description suggests, just work in street clothes usually casual rather than uniforms. Sure enough, no report was ever made. I have no idea what he wants to say, or why after four years, he's breaking his silence. Gillian Whitfield recalled Jenkins as sweet and always willing to lend a hand. My thoughts return to Kenneth Bumgardner, a hard-working father who was chased by the squad when they suspected him of having marijuana. . All of the other officers would have to be inaccurate in their testimony if it is to be believed that Detective Jenkins was manufacturing information for the affidavit, she said. Until this point, I'd only heard Jenkins on. He goes on and on gushing about Sergeant Jenkins, Assistant States Attorney Jenifer Layman said. It showed Sneed calmly standing across the street looking on, never even raising his arms. They tracked other dealers and broke into their houses when no one was home. Instead, they go out looking for illegal activity people exchanging drugs or displaying bulges under clothing that could be guns. I have to try to untangle his answers as he moves from subject to subject, sometimes so fast I can't keep up. Jenkins idolized his sergeant, Michael Fries, the target of the expletive. Then-Police Commissioner Anthony Batts had created a Force Investigation Team to inspire public trust that police leaders were keeping an eye on officers use of force. Stepp turned everything over to the US prosecutors. "It's that simple.". As Jenkins is telling me this, he is naming names. Why cant I be like this guy?. In Justin Fenton's book We Own This City, on which the HBO series is based, the Baltimore Sun journalist explained that Jenkins would often be "caught in a lie" while giving evidence to a jury, but no complaints were put on his record. His eye socket was fractured. FOX45 looks at the 8 former officers of the Gun Trace Task ForceThe ring leader of the squad Wayne Jenkins is currently serving the longest sentence out of the members federally indicted on . In my conversation with Jenkins, he spent a lot of time disputing Stepp's account of their partnership. Oh, yeah. "Now we're going to burn it down. "I'm so sorry to the citizens of Baltimore.". Image Credit: Baltimore Police Department. I ask. Its a Viking mentality: You go out into the field among the bad guys, and you bring back a bounty, Davis said. No one believed Oakley. "You have nightmares about police officers harassing you, beating you up, just locking you up, it's just a nightmare that I have and it basically hasn't gone away yet," he said. In court, Ward apologised to the victims, to his family and to the Baltimore Police Department, as well as to his co-defendants. Marcus Taylor split up $20,000 in cash they stole in 2015. Credit: Kevin Richardson / Baltimore Sun, serving a federal sentence for tax evasion. They urged his supervisors to get him back to work and focused, according to an internal police department investigation conducted after the indictments. Wayne Jenkins joined Baltimore's police department way back in 2003 as a beat cop patrolling the streets of Baltimore. The Parkville American Legion Post named him its Officer of the Year. The departments Internal Affairs chief at the time says then-Deputy Commissioner Darryl De Sousa intervened to prevent the punishment. "I'm finally trying to get my life back on track," he told me. After he was sent to federal lock-up, I wrote Jenkins a letter once a year - along with many other journalists, book authors, producers and documentary filmmakers - requesting an interview. "I just go through this on a daily basis, scared of police, wondering when they gonna stop you, trying to plant drugs on you or something like that. The indictment of Jenkins and six of his gun task force officers on federal racketeering charges rocked Baltimore when the announcement came in March 2017. During his time on the streets of Baltimore Jenkins was involved. Ex-police sergeant Wayne Earl Jenkins apologized in the courtroom for the crimes he committed at the same time as he was head of an elite squad referred to as the Gun Trace Task . 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