Some defense attorneys say their clients told them Jenkins had robbed them. "I swear, I wish I would have known before I ever put anyone in here I wish I would have known the other side," he says at one point. But thats likely not what triggered the unprovoked beating of OConnor. Not long after Stepp flipped on his former friend, Jenkins pled guilty. While he may not be ready to let go of his animus towards Jenkins, Stepp's strange journey seems - at least for now - to be heading towards a happy ending. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. At that time, I didnt think they were officers, Simon said. Ex-police sergeant Wayne Earl Jenkins apologised in court for the crimes he committed while heading an elite squad called the Gun Trace Task Force (GTTF). But when the officers exited the elevators on the building's second floor, they were met by an FBI SWAT team. He resigned and the top spot at the Baltimore Police Department remains vacant. BALTIMORE One of the main players in the Baltimore Police Department's Gun Trace Task Force corruption scandal is asking for compassionate release from prison. Becoming Wayne Jenkins: Jon Bernthal's Deep Dive Into We Own This City 's Corrupt Cop For the HBO miniseries, the actor went on nightly ride-alongs and spoke at length with the imprisoned. Wayne Jenkins will be played by Jon Bernthal, the same actor who portrayed "The Punisher". Then 34, he was already an admired leader of aggressive street squads and would go on to head the elite Gun Trace Task Force, one of the Baltimore Police Departments go-to assets in the fight against violent crime. Officers in plainclothes units often operate in the shadows of a police department. Jenkins was a rising star in the department, because of his ability to regularly bring in huge seizures of drugs and guns. Then 34, he was already an admired leader of aggressive street squads and would go on to head the elite Gun Trace Task Force, one of the Baltimore. FOX45 looks at the 8 former officers of the Gun Trace Task ForceThe ring leader of the squad Wayne Jenkins is currently serving the longest sentence out of the members federally indicted on . Credit: U.S. Attorney's Office. Read about our approach to external linking. Read more: Inside one of America's most corrupt police squads. Wayne Jenkins and former Det. He acknowledged that he could tell something was off with Jenkins around the time of the GTTF crime spree. Video, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Read the full story of Baltimore's Gun Trace Task Force, Inside one of America's most corrupt police squads, Harry and Meghan told to 'vacate' Frogmore Cottage, Fungus case forces Jack Daniels to halt construction, Rare Jurassic-era bug found at Arkansas Walmart, China and Belarus call for peace in Ukraine, Ed Sheeran says wife developed tumour in pregnancy, NFL hopeful accused of racing in deadly car crash, Beer and wine sales in Canada fall to all-time low, Dozens of girls treated after new Iran poisonings. Sergeant Wayne. The tape disputed Jenkins sworn account. Wayne Jenkins, 37, pleaded guilty in January to robbery . The leader of a rogue Baltimore police unit sobbed as he was sentenced to 25 years in prison in a corruption scandal prosecutors called "breathtaking". The show briefly depicts Wayne Jenkins' wife in episode 5, and we are told that Wayne takes time off for the impending birth of his child. "I did, yes. Any attempts to make the force become less of a warrior and more of a guardian was looked at terribly, he said. Homegrown commanders took pride in being known as having knockers. During the altercation, a passerby named George Sneed was assaulted by officer Robert Cirello who broke his jaw, leading Sneed to sue. "I thought it was a winner.". Jenkins doled out $5,000 to each of the two officers and instructed them not to make any big purchases. Jenkins' lawyer mentioned that he has been assaulted at least once by another inmate who was targeting him for being a former police officer. But it's the big man upstairs," he says. Later, Jenkins came out carrying two kilos of cocaine he tossed in Stepp's vehicle. When I saw the video, Webb later told The Sun, it didnt corroborate what was in the statement of probable cause at all.. Stepp and Jenkins' history runs deep. That while the homicide rate was on a historic rise, this elite, eight-officer team was getting guns off the streets at an astonishing rate. "This is a saying we state: 'Don't let probable cause stand in the way of a good arrest,'" Jenkins says. The Parkville American Legion Post named him its Officer of the Year. After an FBI investigation into the unit discovered the GTTF's crimes, federal officers arrested Jenkins alongside several others in the unit. Jenkins signed a plea agreement in 2017 that detailed seven robberies that he participated in along with other members of the unit, as well as his drug dealing partnership with Donald Stepp, the former bail bondsman and cocaine dealer who testified at trial. Meanwhile, his Twitter account is full of pictures of him on set, hamming it up with Bernthal and some of the other actors. "I'm in prison for 25 years, there's no reason to lie.". But overall, plaintiffs prevailed in at least three lawsuits accusing Jenkins of beatings or other misconduct from 2006 to 2009, resulting in $90,000 in taxpayer payouts. Then 34, he was already an admired leader of aggressive street squads and would go on to head the elite Gun Trace Task Force, one of the Baltimore Police Department's go-to assets in the fight against violent crime. Hill told Al-Jazeera it was because then-Deputy Commissioner De Sousa got involved. None of the cases led to any police department discipline for Jenkins, his personnel records show. Historical Accuracy (Q&A): Is Sgt. He was also the ringleader of a criminal enterprise of police officers who were robbing people and dealing drugs. "I deserve to be punished. His earliest admitted theft was in 2011. De Sousa, who later served as commissioner and is currently serving time on federal tax charges, says he doesnt remember the case. "I still maintain my innocence. The officer they talked to didnt seem like a candidate for that, the lawyers said. It didn't take long before Stepp began to suspect that Jenkins ratted him out. In part due to his cooperation in the case, he received a much shorter sentence than the officers of the GTTF. The jury was shown axes, machetes and pry bars, as well as black masks that were found in Jenkins' van after his arrest. In the spring of 2015, the city of Baltimore was rocked by civil unrest after the in-custody death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray. A loyal friend. He states flatly that Jenkins is lying to me. Marcus Taylor split up $20,000 in cash they stole in 2015. Credit: Kevin Richardson / Baltimore Sun, serving a federal sentence for tax evasion. Now, the recommended punishment was significant: a demotion, a transfer and suspension for 15 to 20 days, including a period without pay, Hill told the television network Al-Jazeera. He is working on a book about the Gun Trace Task Force, to be published by Random House. The message read: "Greetings. If his arrest was stunning, the depiction of his civil rights violations, robberies and more wasnt news to everyone certainly not to people who had been in Jenkins sights, fairly or not, over the years. But he added, All disciplinary decisions were put through the proper consideration by command staff and BPD legal department. Jenkins explained that hed already tracked the man to Essex, so he thought they could stake out the home, go through the mans trash and find something to parlay into a search warrant. A two-year federal investigation into the GTTF resulted in all eight officers, and one Philadelphia officer, getting charged with several offenses, including racketeering, in 2017. The first 15 minutes are over in a flash. You're taught that - the second someone gets in trouble we meet up, and we talk face to face," he says. "I'm wrong, God knows I'm wrong," the 37-year-old said. It's a depressing fact that this is a viewpoint likely shared by many in Baltimore, and is a part of the reason why the GTTF got away with what they did for so long. The matter was referred to the police integrity unit of the Baltimore states attorneys office for investigation. He is serving the harshest sentence : 25 years . Hours later, in a quiet waterfront neighborhood 15 miles east of downtown, a drug-dealing bail bondsman was roused from his sleep. Sergeants are the eyes and ears of the command, the front-line supervisors trusted to keep close tabs on their officers. Jenkins admitted that he stole drugs from work and delivered them to Stepp, who would turn around and sell them. Wayne Jenkins a former Marine? Blake who in 2017 would wind up presiding over the Gun Trace Task Force corruption case noted that the other officers present backed Jenkins account. These units often operated with little supervision. Or harm you or even kill you.". "And I remember taking the $10,000.". Wayne Jenkins who was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for years of robberies, drug dealing and other crimes has asked a judge to release him just four . You never know until you get on this side, including me, what you do to families.". Near Druid Hill Park, amid the shouting, sirens and buzzing choppers overhead, he commandeered a state prison department van and helped pull injured officers inside. His account and Jenkins claim that hed found the gun is evocative of testimony by two of Jenkins officers in the 2018 Gun Trace Task Force trial. After three weeks of astonishing testimony, the jury found the two remaining officers guilty. While no one should forget for an instant that Jenkins and his officers caused untold harm to Baltimore citizens, I don't find it helpful to try to write him off as a "monster". But the suits triggered no internal punishment by the police department. "Wayne is truly sorry for his actions. He and six members of that unit now sit in federal prison for crimes including conspiracy, racketeering and robbery, all committed under the guise of legitimate police work. He also acknowledged stealing the man's $4,000 (2,956) watch, which he gave to Stepp to sell. Jenkins got a bronze star for his part in the 2009 recovery of 41 kilograms of cocaine $1 million worth in a mans truck. I asked him if he thinks that another scandal is inevitable. Just as she was completing her podcast series on the story, she got a very unexpected call from prison. When the man stopped his car and started to run away, Jenkins drove after him and into someones front yard, where he struck him. Despite the lawsuits and later, video evidence from his squads body cameras Jenkins supervisors failed to scrutinize the arrests he was making. Amid controversies over the years, police brass would publicly disband the units, then reconstitute them with the same personnel under a different name. "It shows what a committed, sophisticated, devious person can do," Mr Wise said. Four years after the Gun Trace Task Force officers were arrested, he says he sees no difference on the streets of Baltimore. Jenkins said hed tried to be nice, but now they were going to jail. We Own This City airs Mondays at 9 p.m. But I think he also spoke to me because he doesn't like the image of himself that's been in the media - as a sociopath, as someone almost inhumanly evil. He claims that it was Stepp's idea to start selling drugs together, not the other way around. But the scope of the corruption of Jenkins and his men remains a singular stain on the force. Over the years, I wrote to all of these former officers in prison several times, asking them to help me understand their breathtaking crimes. Baltimore leaders have agreed to pay a $6 million settlement to the family of a driver who was killed during a 2010 police chase involving Gun Trace Task Force officers. Had the officers done things by the book, the cash and drugs would be registered with evidence control. Plainclothes officers, as the description suggests, just work in street clothes usually casual rather than uniforms. He says he couldn't risk it as a father with a young family. He names the veteran he says coached him into stealing for the first time. Federal prosecutors displayed the contents of a bag found in the trunk of Sgt. Maurice Ward says he, Sgt. A former member of the unit, Sergeant Thomas Allers, also pleaded guilty. "Seen it done, honest to god, 500 times.". He thought Jenkins and Frieman might have been impersonating police. Across the country, these plainclothes squads have often been where scandals are born. Jenkins says that the veteran goaded him into taking money. Wayne Jenkins eyes darted from screen to screen, taking in the surveillance images. Baltimore Sun reporter Justin Fenton spent a year delving into the operations of Wayne Jenkins and his officers, both as members of the Gun Trace Task Force and before. "I'm finally trying to get my life back on track," he told me. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. During hia time in the department, Jenkins was involved in numerous arrests . Jenkins must serve three years of supervised release after his custodial sentence. He popped the trunk and carried the drugs into the garage. Inside the police department, the Gun Trace Task Force was known for its success in capturing suspected drug dealers, their stashes and their illegal firearms. In Baltimore, theyre often referred to as knockers, a reference to their historically aggressive tactics. I never aimed nothing at him . Jenkins was given a 25-year prison sentence on June 7, 2018, which he is currently in the midst of serving at a federal prison in Kentucky. However, the focus on quantity rather than quality led Jenkins and the seven other GTTF officers to start planting evidence, take money from the homes they invaded, and even resell the drugs they seized back onto the streets. BALTIMORE The Baltimore City Board of Estimates paid out a $6 million settlement Wednesday to the family of a bystander who died during a police chase by the . Donny made every piece of that up.". "Absolutely. "I knew the things we were doing were wrong," he said. Sure enough, no report was ever made. Five of the former officers, including Jenkins, pleaded guilty. Someone once told me that it will take a generation for the direct impact of the Gun Trace Task Force to start to fade, and it will be impossible to measure how the victims' trauma will play out in the lives of their children, families and friends. When Jenkins called him to a house the GTTF was investigating, Stepp took pictures of the officers going in and out. He was scared. But nothing more. Jenkins released the men and told them hed follow up with them later. "It's still hard though, because I get a lot of pain in my mouth at night. It was still daylight, and Jenkins opened a black and red duffel bag. It's no wonder people come out meaner than when they come in.". Former Baltimore Police Sgt. Today, he's a free man, living without restrictions with his spouse and young daughter in the eastern part of Baltimore County. Taxpayers footed the bill. OConnor, a house painter who missed weeks of work because of his injuries, sued Jenkins and put forward witnesses who backed his account: After OConnor yelled at Fries, officers had pulled him to the ground, and Jenkins walloped him. In the annals of the Baltimore Police Department, Wayne Jenkins name was not being associated with wrongdoing. "How police act towards people ain't changed," he told me recently. But most people who worked with him police and prosecutors asserted to The Sun they had no idea he and his officers were involved in criminal behavior. Jenkins idolized his sergeant, Michael Fries, the target of the expletive. This partnership lasted for five years. The daughters of 86-year-old Elbert Davis also told the court about the 2010 car crash Jenkins caused while he was pursuing a man named Umar Burley. Jenkins was a member of the Baltimore police department's Gun Trace Task Force (GTTF), a plain-clothed unit tasked with finding guns and drugs in bulk in a bid to tackle the city's high murder. "It strikes at the foundation of our entire criminal justice system.". "I've tarnished the badge," he said through tears. Jenkins is currently in prison. Jenkins rushed off to join them. In court, Ward apologised to the victims, to his family and to the Baltimore Police Department, as well as to his co-defendants. They testified he told them to carry BB guns to plant if they ever injured or killed an unarmed person, that he often took large quantities of drugs off of suspects without submitting them to the police evidence room. Jenkins, who later led the GTTF, pleaded guilty to civil rights violations for participating in the coverup and is serving 25 years in prison for crimes including robberies and selling drugs. All this happened over nothing, one of the brothers, Charles Lee, recalled recently. Gillian Whitfield recalled Jenkins as sweet and always willing to lend a hand. He calls Stepp "the biggest exaggerator I've ever met in my life". Having taken money before with previous squads, he expected the officers might skim some and submit the rest as cover. Jenkins, indignant, aggressively shot back at questions from OConnors attorney. He says he was told that because these officers were so successful at seizing guns, there was nothing to be done. He's due to be released in 2038. I was a hero," Jenkins says of his activity during the unrest. They said Jenkins instructed them to carry BB guns to plant on suspects to justify their actions if they made a mistake. I never heard back from the Baltimore Police Department. In February 2017, Jenkins was charged with two counts of racketeering conspiracy; racketeering, aiding and abetting; racketeering; two counts of robbery and aiding and abetting; and two counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. And Jenkins says, Did you look in the console? And he pulls the rug back and boom. A lot of what he told me was much more systematic. Jenkins started calling Stepp to the scenes of arrests, encouraging Stepp to try to get inside drug dealer's hideouts to steal whatever cash or narcotics he could find. Some of his men also have acknowledged stealing well before they came together on the Gun Trace Task Force in 2016. In Baltimores recent history, the police department has consistently relied on such units, even though the conduct of many of their officers would draw criticism from city residents. Baltimore Police Sgt. Fenton joined The Sun as a suburban reporter in 2005. That creates a culture its not unique to Baltimore, but its pronounced here that those guys should be given a pass, Davis said. He started counting the money, $20,000 in all. Wayne Jenkins, who . Shawn Whiting, a man whose house was robbed of $16,000 and a kilo-and-a-half of heroin, testified that he knew that as a drug dealer, his word counted for much less than the officers'. Baltimore leaders have agreed to pay a $6 million settlement to the family of a driver who was killed during a 2010 police chase involving Gun Trace Task Force officers. He admitted to knowing . They walked far enough so they couldnt be seen from the street. Another was to talk about how futile life inside the penal system is. 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