BALTIMORE (AP) — Two Baltimore police officers were charged with separate incidents this week. Among them was a department veteran who served for 11 years who was accused of selling drugs after hours. Ganttrace Task Force The corruption scandal has severed public trust.
Officer Cejus Watson was supposed to be on duty at police headquarters in downtown Baltimore on September 29, according to the grand jury indictment, but he went to work on duty, drove to a Baltimore County tattoo parlor, sold marijuana.
Watson had previously been charged with distributing marijuana in another jurisdiction, Baltimore County, and had been suspended without pay as a result. That case, related to the same drug trafficking allegations, is underway in a trial scheduled for June.
Attorney Ivan Bates, who was named Baltimore’s top prosecutor in January, announced the indictment at a news conference Thursday morning, demonstrating his commitment to holding law enforcement officers accountable for wrongdoing. said.
Second officer Alexis Acosta faces charges including manslaughter after he beat a scooter rider to death while responding to a 911 call in June.
Bates said the indictment questions the officers’ “honesty and ability to protect the citizens of Baltimore.” He called Watson’s alleged behavior “absolutely mind-boggling”.
“When I hear evidence that cops were selling drugs on the job, I can’t help but think of the infamous Gun Track Squad. It’s a shame for the department and the city at large.” He said. He said.
The corruption scandal resulted in more than a dozen police officers being convicted on criminal charges. It was the discovery that members of an elite plainclothes unit created to clear the streets of illegal guns robbed drug dealers, planted drugs and firearms on innocent people, and attacked random civilians. It started with
Department too under a federal consent order it’s a series of Court-ordered reforms To eradicate unconstitutional policing.
Bates said, troublingly, the indictment against Watson is likely not an indication of growing corruption within the department.
“I believe the consent decree is working,” he said.
According to public salary records, Watson earned $86,000 in 2021. A lawyer representing him did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
Acosta was responding to a 911 call regarding a reported stabbing injury when he attacked Terry Harrell, 58, who was riding an electric scooter. Video footage of the crash showed Acosta driving through a red light with lights and sirens on. In addition to manslaughter, he has been charged with reckless driving and negligent driving.
Online court records Thursday did not indicate whether Acosta had an attorney representing him.
A spokesperson for the Baltimore Police Department said Acosta continues to have administrative duties.
made by bates Other news Baltimore Police Indictment.However, he also refused to prosecute the police Last year, he shot and killed a teenage driver while he was on the run. That decision, which drew criticism from activists, contradicted an investigative report from the state prosecutor reviewing the case.
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The article was amended to state that Acosta responded to the June 911 call, not the September call.
