Former Gun Trace Task Force member Hersl says he has cancer, asks for release from prison
BALTIMORE -- Former Baltimore Police Gun Trace Task Force member Daniel Hersl has metastatic prostate cancer and is expected to have less than 18 months to live, his attorney said in an emergency motion asking that he be released from prison.
Hersl, 53, is serving 18 years in prison after a federal jury convicted him in 2018 of racketeering charges for robbing citizens, falsifying information and stealing overtime. He was among at least 13 officers who were brought down on allegations that included robbing citizens, stealing and selling drugs, falsifying reports and overtime and trying to cover it all up.
Hersl would like to spend the last months of his life with his 16-year-old son, Colin, according to court documents.
"They both have maintained a strong bond by communicating by letter and mail daily since Mr. Hersl was first incarcerated," the court documents state.
Hersl had long been a notorious detective accused of misconduct before being ensnared in a wiretap investigation that took down a squad of rogue city cops, as well as others with connections to the group, according to WJZ's media partner the Baltimore Banner.
The emergency motion for compassionate release states that Hersl's cancer has "metastasized to lymph nodes, liver, both lungs, one rib and upper sacrum."
He was first suspected of having prostate cancer in December 2022, according to the motion.
The compassionate release statute allows courts to reduce sentences for defendants who can show that they have "extraordinary and compelling" reasons.
Hersl hopes that he would be allowed "to receive appropriate palliative medical care while on home detention in Baltimore," according to the motion.
He has been staying at the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri.
It was in Missouri that he learned from an oncology consultation that his cancer would "likely be terminal" and painful, the motion stated.
If Hersl is released from prison, then he will reside with family members who will work together to provide him with food, lodging and travel for palliative treatment. That treatment would be arranged through the University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Hospital, according to the motion.
This is the second compassionate release request that has been made for Hersl.
The first was sent to the prison warden on Aug. 29, however, no response was received, according to Hersl's attorney.
Currently, Hersl is slated to be released from prison in July 2031. His attorney requested a response to the emergency motion in five business days, which is on Tuesday, Oct. 24.