After the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore in 2015, all eyes were on the police officers accused of causing the fatal spinal injury Gray suffered while in police custody, and on the prosecutor who took the bold and unusual step at the time of criminally charging the cops who arrested Gray. As the trials of these officers went forward with a series of acquittals and dropped charges (the case ended with zero convictions), something sinister was going on in the background.
Members of a Baltimore police unit known as the Gun Trace Task Force, which had been tasked with getting firearms off the streets, were using their police powers to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars in money and drugs, and then selling the drugs for cash. Their aggressive pursuit of people they believed to be easy targets — mostly alleged drug dealers — resulted in jail time and convictions for the victims of these thefts, but also extensive violence and even deaths, all built upon the fabrications and deceit of these officers. Along the way they were racking up extensive fraudulent overtime.
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