Baltimore spending board approves $60K settlement to Gun Trace Task Force victim
BALTIMORE -- Baltimore's spending board on Wednesday approved a $60,000 settlement with a man who sued the city after he spent over a year in prison when he was arrested by members of the corrupt Gun Trace Task Force.
According to the board's agenda, GTTF officers Evodio Hendrix, Wayne Jenkins, Marcus Taylor, and Maurice Ward arrested Derrick Anderson in connection with a reported shooting in 2016. The officers found a handgun on him and he faced a slew of gun charges, including being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Anderson pleaded guilty to possession of a regulated firearm and served 14 months in prison. His charges were among 187 cases dropped by the State's Attorney's Office in November 2017, after the corrupt officers were indicted.
Anderson filed a notice of intent to sue the city, claiming false arrest, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution and other offenses.
Baltimore's Department of Law recommended the board approve the settlement to avoid the expenses of "further protracted litigation and the potential for an excess judgment."
Eight officers in the GTTF unit were convicted of racketeering, armed robbery, selling drugs, falsifying overtime and planting evidence on suspects they arrested.
Sergeant Wayne Jenkins, the head of the task force who was involved in the plaintiff's arrest, is now serving 25 years in federal prison.
Marcus Taylor got an 18-year sentence after refusing a plea deal. Officers Maurice Ward and Evodio Hendrix both got seven-year prison sentences.
A 515-page investigation on the scandal-ridden unit details how widespread corruption continued for years in the police department, with supervisors looking the other way if top officers continued to bring in arrests and seizures.
Over $14 million has been paid by the city in restitution to victims of the GTTF, including $300,000 to rapper Young Moose, who settled in June.