Retired BPD Sergeant Indicted Also Being Sued For 2010 Drug Plant Incident
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — The retired Baltimore police sergeant who was indicted this week in connection to the Gun Trace Task Force (GTTF) investigation has faced allegations of wrongdoing in the past.
According to the latest indictment, federal prosecutors allege in March 2014, Sergeant Keith Gladstone received an urgent call from Sergeant Wayne Jenkins—who lead the GTTF at the time.
Prosecutors say Jenkins intentionally ran over a man and needed a cover-up. They say Gladstone rushed to the scene on Anntana Avenue and Bel Air Road in northeast Baltimore and planted a BB gun on the man, who was unable to move his legs.
Prosecutors allege Gladstone ordered a fellow officer to lie to federal investigators about what happened and say they were at the scene to provide security.
Gladstone has denied the allegations. He pleaded not guilty in court and his lawyer told WJZ he had no comment as he continued to review the indictment.
Gladstone has been under fire before.
Two men — Umar Burley and Brent Matthews — are suing him, Jenkins, and the late Det. Sean Suiter among others.
Last June, they spoke to WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren.
2 Men Seeking $40 Million In Damages From Baltimore Police, State
Burley and Matthews say police planted drugs on them in 2010, and they were wrongly imprisoned.
At the time, police chased the two — leading to a crash in the Forest Park neighborhood in Northeast Baltimore and the death of a bystander.
Suiter was set to testify in front of a grand jury in the case the day before his death in 2017. His family says he was not involved in corruption.
In another case, Jovonne Walker claims that in 2010, Gladstone and Jenkins stole $20,000 from her and her husband and improperly arrested him.
"What's done in the dark will come to light. I'm glad it's coming to light," Walker told Hellgren last February.
In the unrest following Freddie Gray's death in 2015, Larry Lomax was pepper sprayed and pulled to the ground in an incident involving Gladstone. Lomax won a $75,000 judgment in a civil suit.
The United States Attorney for Maryland, Robert Hur, recently declined to comment on whether the GTTF prosecutions are over.
His office said Monday:
"If convicted, Gladstone faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for conspiracy to violate civil rights, a maximum of five years in prison for conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States, and a maximum of 20 years in prison for witness tampering. At today's initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, U.S. Magistrate Judge Beth P. Gesner ordered that Gladstone be released under the supervision of U.S. Pretrial Services. An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings."
Former Baltimore Police Sergeant Facing Federal Indictment For Allegedly Assisting A Member Of The Baltimore Police GTTF By Planting A Gun At The Scene Of An Arrest And For Allegedly Telling A Witness To Lie During The Federal Investigation https://t.co/NKF4tybzVQ
— US Attorney Maryland (@USAO_MD) March 5, 2019
Acting Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said four other officers have been suspended in connection with the allegations in the new indictment.
"The allegations outlined are beyond disturbing, and speak to a culture that I am here to change," Harrison said in a statement. "We are working with our federal partners on this ongoing investigation. Based on today's indictment and other information provided to me, I am suspending three current Baltimore Police officers pending the outcome of an Internal Affairs investigation. A fourth officer listed in today's indictment had already been suspended and will also be investigated by our Internal Affairs section."
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