Baltimore police carried BB guns to plant on unarmed suspects (accurate but old)

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Baltimore Cops Instructed To Use Toy Guns To Plant As Fake Evidence

The biggest police corruption scandal in Baltimore’s history recently went to trial, with the case revealing everything from cops being a part of a Northeast Baltimore drug crew to robbing suspects and innocent citizens of cash and reselling drugs on the street.

But one of the most notable revelation to come from the case is cops using toy guns as an evidence plant just in case they shot an unarmed person.

The use of toy guns came to light when Officer Maurice Ward, a member of the Baltimore Police Department’s Gun Trace Task Force, was arrested and a toy gun was found in his glove compartment. Ward and other members of the task force were instructed by the unit’s supervisor, Sgt. Wayne Jenkins, to keep toy guns with them, with Jenkins himself keeping “a collection of BB guns on hand” so he could “plant them on people in the case of officer-involved shootings,” according to a report from CBS Baltimore.

The above is three years old - I mistakenly posed it thinking it was new.

The latest development (from earlier this month) is:

Baltimore Police officer on DEA task force charged with stealing money from major drug and cash search

A Baltimore Police officer assigned to a DEA task force was indicted by a grand jury on charges of lying to the FBI about stealing money from a search warrant scene — the latest fallout from the Gun Trace Task Force investigation.

Ethan Glover, an 18-year veteran who has been a federal task force officer with the Drug Enforcement Administration since 2013, was charged in connection with an April 2016 seizure of $2.5 million in Linthicum Heights, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.

[PSOL]

I’m pretty sure this isn’t the first time they’ve done this.

[Badger]

[TiltsAreUnderrated]

I’m pretty sure this isn’t the first time they’ve done this.

BB guns are much easier to identify (as planted) than the many real weapons police presumably have access to. The stupidity of this particular operation probably played a part in exposing it, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was the last not to just use whichever real guns they acquired.

[Badger]

I’m pretty sure this isn’t the first time they’ve done this.

BB guns are much easier to identify (as planted) than the many real weapons police presumably have access to. The stupidity of this particular operation probably played a part in exposing it, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was the last not to just use whichever real guns they acquired.

I think you're missing the point. Or maybe I am. The BB guns don't need to pass his real when they're found, just so long as they looked real enough that officer could credibly claim they thought their lives were endangered because they thought the shooting victim was holding a real gun rather than the BB gun they were actually "holding".

[TiltsAreUnderrated]

I’m pretty sure this isn’t the first time they’ve done this.

BB guns are much easier to identify (as planted) than the many real weapons police presumably have access to. The stupidity of this particular operation probably played a part in exposing it, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was the last not to just use whichever real guns they acquired.

I think you're missing the point. Or maybe I am. The BB guns don't need to pass his real when they're found, just so long as they looked real enough that officer could credibly claim they thought their lives were endangered because they thought the shooting victim was holding a real gun rather than the BB gun they were actually "holding".

There are always going to be slight discrepancies, and a smart operator will leave no room for error by planting the real thing (instead of a mostly convicing fake that can be exposed with a keen eye). Sometimes (and even if it looks real to most passers-by at the scene), all it takes is someone sharing a photo with a large group for that sort of thing to be spotted.

The article suggests this started with the investigation of a toy gun found in the glove department of an arrested police officer. People armed with defective guns for deterrence is one thing, but cops and alleged (deceased) criminals being found with fake guns seems like it would provide more grounds for suspicion of foul play than them being found with a real weapon.

[Santander]

This article is 3 years old.

[Former President tack50]

Baltimore police is stupid.

However I will note that as someone who has shot BB guns, they are definitely not toys at all. They are proper guns that can seriously injure people if you shoot them; and possibly even kill them (though obviously this is way less likely than with a "real" gun and in fact very unlikely to happen at all, but it can still happen if you happen to shoot them at point blank in a vulnerable area)

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

I’m pretty sure this isn’t the first time they’ve done this.

This article is 3 years old.

You guys are right. I saw this re-posted elsewhere and missed the date on it.

There has been a recent development in the (still) ongoing investigation, but not about the gun planting.

Baltimore Police officer on DEA task force charged with stealing money from major drug and cash search

A Baltimore Police officer assigned to a DEA task force was indicted by a grand jury on charges of lying to the FBI about stealing money from a search warrant scene — the latest fallout from the Gun Trace Task Force investigation.

Ethan Glover, an 18-year veteran who has been a federal task force officer with the Drug Enforcement Administration since 2013, was charged in connection with an April 2016 seizure of $2.5 million in Linthicum Heights, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.