In recent weeks, the integrity of the Baltimore Police Department has been severely compromised after body-camera video surfaced showing officers planting drugs on alleged suspects.
On Tuesday, Baltimore defense attorney Josh Insley released another video of a separate incident, which appears to show an officer planting drugs inside of a car, just before another officer appears to find them.
The recently released video has led to the dismissal of five cases, including Shamere Collins’, who is the victim of the alleged police misconduct. In addition, the two officers involved have been referred to Internal Affairs and all cases involving the two have been postponed.
Back in 2016, Collins was arrested and charged with felony distribution of narcotics after officials found heroin and weed in her car. Although Collins admitted to smoking weed on occasion, she said she was shocked to hear officials found the drugs in her car. However, since the release of the video, her case has been dismissed.
“It makes us even scared to address the police or call them for anything because we’re scared,” Collins said. “I’m not saying all police are bad because I have law [enforcement] in my family. So I’m not saying all of them are bad but it’s…the one’s that’s bad is making all of them look bad.”
After the first compromising video released two weeks ago, the State Attorney’s Office said it would be dismissing 41 cases and reviewing an additional 55 because of the video. In that incident, three officers were implicated, two of which were placed on administrative duty. The other officer, however, was suspended.
Although both videos are being investigated by the Baltimore Police Department, the police commissioner told reporters that officers should be given a fair investigation.
“I think it’s irresponsible to jump to a conclusion that the police officers were engaged in criminal misconduct. That’s a heavy allegation to make,” the commissioner told reporters, suggesting that the officer may have been recreating the scene for the body cameras. This is a similar conclusion that the department came to after the first video released.
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