Suspended BPD Sergeant Ethan Newberg Indicted On 32 Counts For Allegedly Harassing Citizens
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — A suspended Baltimore police sergeant was indicted Thursday on 32 counts stemming from nine separate incidents in which he allegedly harassed citizens, Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced Thursday.
At a news conference on Thursday afternoon, Mosby outlined what she called a pattern and practice of Sgt. Ethan Newberg harassing, intimidating and detaining law-abiding citizens without any legal cause spanning from July 2018 and May 2019.
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Newberg, a 24-year veteran of the police department, was arrested in June on assault and misconduct charges after grabbing a man in southwest Baltimore while another officer tackled the man to the ground.
The man was sharing his thoughts about how the officers were conducting a warrant check and asked the officers to remove the person from the wet sidewalk.
Newberg was suspended without pay.
That incident led Mosby's office to conduct an in-depth investigation involving reviewing and analyzing Newberg's body-worn camera footage.
It was then that a pattern emerged, she said.
"What might otherwise appear to be isolated incidents dating back to 2018 turned out to be numerous examples of a consistent pattern and practice of knowing and intentional harassment, intimidation, detention, assault, coercion and illegal tactics that were employed against law-abiding citizens of Baltimore City with the intent to instill fear as is alleged in the indictment," Mosby said.
#BREAKING: @MarilynMosbyEsq announcing the indictment of Baltimore Police Sgt. Ethan Newberg on 32 counts of false imprisonment, assault and misconduct in office. @wjz pic.twitter.com/cAsTWy1LDn
— Rachel Menitoff (@RachelMenitoff) December 12, 2019
Mosby said the incident in June was one of many examples of Newberg's unlawful conduct, going on to say he intimidated people who questioned his actions while he was conducting police business or tried to record his actions.
"According to the indictment, several of Sgt. Newberg's unlawful detentions and assaults occurred as a direct result of citizens sitting or standing idly nearby as Sgt. Newberg was conducting other police business, causing no disturbance or creating any threat to Sgt. Newberg or his colleagues," she said.
She said her office is still deciding what to do about the arrests and convictions involving Newberg.
He could face up to 110 years in prison.