They told me they were disturbed that he was being portrayed as a "monster". After the indictments, one of Jenkins supervisors told Internal Affairs investigators she had believed he was the best gun cop this department has ever seen.. Inside was a stack of bills. Its a Viking mentality: You go out into the field among the bad guys, and you bring back a bounty, Davis said. He ran me over because I was getting away.. "I did, yes. OConnor had spent much of the day tossing back beers at the Brewers Hill Pub & Grill in Southeast Baltimore when the manager asked him to leave. 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. It is simply not true., U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake denied Oakleys motion to suppress the evidence. What had he gotten himself into? Stepp's moving on with his life - in a sense. In court, Ward apologised to the victims, to his family and to the Baltimore Police Department, as well as to his co-defendants. "And I remember taking the $10,000.". Some of his men also have acknowledged stealing well before they came together on the Gun Trace Task Force in 2016. "I'm in prison for 25 years, there's no reason to lie.". He was scared. 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 gave me a few reasons. One of the most shocking incidents from the plea agreement is an event that Jenkins now unequivocally denies. "I've tarnished the badge," he said through tears. Having taken money before with previous squads, he expected the officers might skim some and submit the rest as cover. I never heard back from the Baltimore Police Department. Former Baltimore Police Sgt. Any attempts to make the force become less of a warrior and more of a guardian was looked at terribly, he said. Youve got to be willing to dig into their s--- and confront them, Barksdale said. He points to the plea agreement, in which Jenkins agreed that his cut of their drug sales came to roughly $250,000. They employed tactics that straddled and sometimes clearly crossed the line that divides aggressive policing and trampling on civil rights. 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. No single person was in a position to make unilateral discipline decisions.. Sneed was chased and caught, and his jaw was broken in the process. Some tried to complain, but were ignored. At the trial four years later, Jenkins and his fellow officers claimed that the witness had been throwing bottles at them, but security camera footage shown at the trial proved what Jenkins claimed was not true. The conversation with Jenkins gets more complicated when we turn specifically to the crimes of the Gun Trace Task Force. ET on HBO. It's going to happen again," he said. Maurice Ward says he, Sgt. It's propped up on top of a suitcase sitting on top of a plastic tub, and I'm holding my recorder and microphone at the ready. "Right off the bat, we wasn't living lavishly. ", Explaining the tactics of the GTTF, he also told the publication: "This is a saying we state: 'Don't let probable cause stand in the way of a good arrest. Updated: Mar 1, 2023 / 02:16 PM EST. He walked into the court wearing a maroon prison uniform. A lot of what he told me was much more systematic. Jenkins, who had been suspended during the investigation, went back to work, making no fewer than three dozen arrests over the rest of the year, most of them gun cases. For example, in January 2006, Jenkins and Sergeant Michael Fries had an altercation with brothers Charles and Robert Lee after they continued to drink beer on the front step of their grandmother's home when the policemen had told them to stop. It was during these games that Stepp heard Jenkins boasting about the large drug stashes he often came across during his work as a plainclothes police officer. "Everything I tell you, I will take a polygraph," Jenkins says near the beginning of that first phone call. He started to worry. Wayne Jenkins is the leader of the rogue police unit in Baltimore who was sentenced to 25 years of prison in a corruption scandal prosecutors called "breathtaking". It was difficult for me to understand and parse all of Jenkins' denials, now. Then, in November 2017, he was given further charges of destruction, alteration or falsification of records in federal investigations, and deprivation of rights under color of law. 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, 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. But Davis, Baltimores police commissioner from 2015 to 2018 and a veteran of two other departments, calls plainclothes units necessary and critical to the crime fight. They go looking for guns and drugs, he said, and often are successful. This call is from", A human voice breaks in: "Wayne Jenkins.". Jenkins names two specific locations where he says the drugs get tossed: a train bridge near the Eastern District police station, and a wooded highway off-ramp on the way to the Northern District police station. So I kind of had a mental, like maybe a messed up moral code.". That made it very tempting when, sometime around 2011, Jenkins approached Stepp and suggested they go into business together. Instead, they go out looking for illegal activity people exchanging drugs or displaying bulges under clothing that could be guns. One of the most surprising witnesses was a man named Donald Stepp, a bail bondsman, who revealed that he'd been selling drugs Jenkins brought him from work. It wasn't the first time I've heard that word to describe Jenkins. With the investigations behind him, Jenkins seemed emboldened. Prior to this, they'd been lauded as some of the best gun cops in the city - seizing dozens of illegal firearms every month, and demonstrating a "a work ethic that is beyond reproach", in the words of one supervisor. That creates a culture its not unique to Baltimore, but its pronounced here that those guys should be given a pass, Davis said. Later, Jenkins came out carrying two kilos of cocaine he tossed in Stepp's vehicle. Federal prosecutors displayed the contents of a bag found in the trunk of Sgt. The jury was shown axes, machetes and pry bars, as well as black masks that were found in Jenkins' van after his arrest. "Obviously I'm in here now, so I see both sides. Justin Fenton takes listeners inside the investigation on the Roughly Speaking podcast. Donny made every piece of that up.". But during the subsequent investigation, Frieman told detectives that he never saw a gun in Simons hand and that rather than being in imminent danger he was around a corner and out of sight when Jenkins ran down Simon. Today, he's a free man, living without restrictions with his spouse and young daughter in the eastern part of Baltimore County. Correction 11 June 2018: This article has been amended to make clear that prosecutors pointed to how 1,700 criminal cases have been affected by the unit's corruption. When one of the men darted into his home, Jenkins rushed in after him. I dont know the nuances, what was said, what wasnt. Jenkins had to affirm under oath in front of a federal judge that what the document said was true. I'm standing in my pandemic "radio studio" - aka the closet in my apartment - surrounded by hangers holding button-up shirts and dresses. Wayne was a cops cop, local hero kind of guy, said Cirello, the retired officer. Gillian Whitfield recalled Jenkins as sweet and always willing to lend a hand. "I'm so sorry for what you're going through. 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. He told me that frequently, when he or his fellow officers didn't feel like submitting the drugs they seized or doing arrest paperwork, they'd simply confiscate people's drug stashes and let them go. Prosecutors urged the judge to sentence him to the maximum 30 years, adding that the unit's corruption affected 1,700 criminal cases. Ex-police sergeant Wayne Earl Jenkins apologized in the courtroom for the crimes he committed at the same time as he was head of an elite squad referred to as the Gun Trace Task . To learn more about their behavior, The Sun obtained several thousand pages of court records, dozens of body camera videos and hundreds of police department emails and restricted internal files. In December 2017, eight months after Jenkins was arrested, the FBI and Baltimore County officers broke down Stepp's door and arrested him in his kitchen. Wayne Jenkins Image Credit: Baltimore Police Department/Associated Press. Barksdale, the former deputy commissioner who crafted department strategies from 2007 to 2012, leaned heavily on plainclothes units. This is his senior portrait from 1998. That the GTTF's leader, a former Marine and amateur MMA fighter named Sergeant Wayne Jenkins, was a hero who'd plunged into a violent crowd during the unrest to rescue injured officers. Maurice Ward, a former detective now serving a seven-year prison term for committing crimes with Jenkins, said he and other officers jockeyed to get on his team. Marcus Taylor split up $20,000 in cash they stole in 2015. Credit: Kevin Richardson / Baltimore Sun, serving a federal sentence for tax evasion. She said she found Hersl in particular to be very credible.. I have to try to untangle his answers as he moves from subject to subject, sometimes so fast I can't keep up. "He's never been a true friend," Stepp says. "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. Homegrown commanders took pride in being known as having knockers. One former supervisor never responded. These misconduct allegations came as Jenkins was serving in various plainclothes units well before his appointment in 2016 to head the Gun Trace Task Force, one of the departments most celebrated plainclothes squads. Hed grown up in the working class suburb, where his father worked two jobs, including at Bethlehem Steel. Victims like Bumgardner and Whiting had the courage to speak out. A loyal friend. Detectives Maurice Ward, Evodio Hendrix, Momodu Gondo and Jemell Rayam all pleaded guilty. One was that he felt he'd been railroaded into his plea agreement by the US prosecutors (the Maryland US Attorney's Office declined to comment). Read about our approach to external linking. As backup arrived, Jenkins spotted a man named George Sneed across the street. "I'd rather be a prosecutor so I don't overkill people. He admitted to knowing . A few months after the OConnor incident, Jenkins was involved in another run-in where his sworn account was contradicted. De Sousa, who is now serving a federal sentence for tax evasion, said through his attorney that he does not remember the Jenkins case. 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'. Wayne Jenkins is a former BPD Sergeant who served as the leader of the Gun Trace Task Force. "I just go through this on a daily basis, scared of police, wondering when they gonna stop you, trying to plant drugs on you or something like that. All seven members were soon in handcuffs. The prosecutors characterised both men as having less culpability in the GTTF's schemes and that Ward in particular had provided valuable information that lead to additional charges against other officers. Jenkins must serve three years of supervised release after his custodial sentence. Credit: Baltimore Police. I asked Wayne Jenkins several times why he wanted to do the interview with me. Dan Horgan said his mentality was your typical Marine camaraderie, teamwork. Oh, yeah. The officer they talked to didnt seem like a candidate for that, the lawyers said. April 25, 2022 5:45 PM EDT. But I did call them, and the Baltimore Police Department, to see if anyone would respond to this laundry list of allegations. "It shows what a committed, sophisticated, devious person can do," Mr Wise said. Just as she was completing her podcast series on the story, she got a very unexpected call from prison. Still, a yearlong investigation by The Baltimore Sun found warning signs that Wayne Jenkins wasnt such a good cop. None of the cases led to any police department discipline for Jenkins, his personnel records show. Far from it. View all articles on the Gun Trace Task Force on The Baltimore Sun. Jenkins did not testify at the trial, but in a way, he was the star of the entire proceeding. "It's nothing I've ever imagined. During his time on the streets of Baltimore Jenkins was involved. Jenkins and members of his squad were praised for their work getting guns off the streets in an October 2016 police department newsletter. Jon Bernthal embedded with Baltimore police to play city's dirtiest cop in HBO's "We Own This City" On "Salon Talks" Bernthal reveals he spoke to the real Sgt. All of the other officers would have to be inaccurate in their testimony if it is to be believed that Detective Jenkins was manufacturing information for the affidavit, she said. Ward and the other cop followed Jenkins into the woods. It didn't take long before Stepp began to suspect that Jenkins ratted him out. Jenkins was developing a reputation within the department as a cop whose aggressive style brought results. On the citys west side, officers were being pelted with bricks; some were hurt. It was nicknamed The Barn an apparent homage to the offices of a corrupt police unit on the television series The Shield. The show, modeled after a 1990s Los Angeles Police Department scandal, featured a strike team that roughed up suspects, lied about their investigations and took a cut of their drug busts. He's opening a consulting service called Stepp Right Consultants, to give guidance and insight to men and women who are about to enter the federal penal system. "It's that simple.". In the bedroom, Jenkins says he and a veteran supervisor found a suitcase filled with tens of thousands of dollars in cash. They also didnt give chase. Stepp turned everything over to the US prosecutors. Five years later, Simons claims were confirmed. HBO's new true-crime drama stars Jon Bernthal as Jenkins, with the show examining Jenkins' rise in the city's police department and eventual arrest after a two-year federal investigation into the GTTF. It was his first public appearance since he was arrested along with six other officers last year. Jenkins joined the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) on February 20, 2003 and was promoted to Sergeant on November 20, 2013. Yes, I did," he says. Would they report the incident? I am Agent and Representative as to Mr Jenkins. "an inmate in a federal prison," the robot finishes. "How police act towards people ain't changed," he told me recently. Their work is not to be confused with undercover operations, in which police officers assume a different identity and worm their way into a criminal organization. But Whiting is not so optimistic. Some drug dealers told their lawyers that Jenkins made stuff up to arrest them and had kept a good chunk of their money and drugs before taking them in. We Own This City, an HBO Max miniseries out April 25, about a Baltimore Police Department (BPD) task force unit that went rogue, highlights some of the . The drop-offs included marijuana, cocaine and MDMA, all of which Stepp did his best to sell. He is working on a book about the Gun Trace Task Force, to be published by Random House. I think about Shawn Whiting, a former heroin dealer who went to prison for years after the officers robbed him. They might not have been believed anyhow. Sneed. He idolizes this guy, said Shelley Glenn, another prosecutor. In a recent interview, Simon told The Sun, I never had no BB gun. "He perverted the criminal justice system.". This partnership lasted for five years. In June 2018, after pleading guilty on charges of. Jenkins, who until his arrest was viewed within the Baltimore Police Department as one of its most high-performing officers, is serving 25 years in prison after he pleaded guilty in 2017 to. Officers in plainclothes units often operate in the shadows of a police department. "I ain't have a trial because the simple fact is I knew [the court] would believe them over top of me," he told the jury. Sneed's attorney Michael Pulver concluded, per Fenton, that the officers had "fabricated this story to hide the fact that they intentionally assaulted and falsely arrested and imprisoned Mr. The courtroom was also packed with Jenkins' family and friends. We Own This City airs Mondays at 9 p.m. "Life in prison with three small children. Command created the monster, she said, and allowed it to go unchecked.. But the scope of the corruption of Jenkins and his men remains a singular stain on the force. You didnt catch me in nothing.. Several of the former officers also took the stand - now wearing prison jumpsuits instead of uniforms - and detailed the tactics encouraged by their leader, Jenkins. "This is a saying we state: 'Don't let probable cause stand in the way of a good arrest,'" Jenkins says. While Jenkins most serious crimes the drug dealing, the robberies appear to have been well hidden, it is not surprising they flourished within Baltimores permissive plainclothes culture. That October evening in 2005, Jenkins had been a Baltimore police officer for just two years. Jenkins was stationed in North Carolina but often made the long trip back home to Middle River. The first 15 minutes are over in a flash. My hope - maybe a naive one - was that hearing one of these men speak candidly about how he crossed over to the dark side would help the public better understand the casual, day-to-day corruption that can happen in policing. On an oddly balmy January night, Jenkins and Fries were working the McElderry Park neighborhood in East Baltimore when they noticed two brothers drinking Steel Reserve beers on the sidewalk outside their rowhouse. Jenkins pleaded guilty in court on January 5, 2018, for numerous counts of four of these charges. The actions of former Baltimore police Sergeant Wayne Jenkins and his team of plain-clothed officers in the Gun Trace Task Force (GTTF) are explored in We Own This City. I continued working on this story for as long as I did out of some hope that the more the public learned about the corruption in the police department, the better chance there might be of some kind of true, systemic reform. The important difference, however, is that the drug dealers never swore an oath to serve and protect. "The largest share of the blame, the largest share of those crimes belongs to him," US attorney Leo Wise told the court. The line goes dead, and I feel like I've barely gotten anywhere. Of all seven men, the last person I thought would ever agree to an interview was Jenkins, the fallen "golden boy" of the Baltimore Police Department. In January 2018, a long list of victims took the stand - many of whom had ties to the drug trade - and told harrowing stories of how they were robbed by the officers during car stops and searches of their homes. And were not getting Jenkins.. The second declined to comment. He claims that he was told early on to lie on police reports and warrant applications in order to make their arrests sound like they were done with proper probable cause, meaning a legal reason to stop someone. It was surreal hearing his voice, talking to me. "Wayne is truly sorry for his actions. "I deserve to be punished. Jenkins, shown here with then-Commissioner Kevin Davis, was awarded a bronze star in April 2016 for his efforts to save injured officers during the unrest a year earlier. I mean, it had velocity, Jenkins said. "He's like, 'I'm not telling you to do anything, I'm just saying it sure would be nice if we had $10,000 apiece to go up to Atlantic City,'" Jenkins recalls. They weren't being paid by the taxpayers to keep the city safe, and weren't operating with all the power and protections that police have. You guys willing to go kick in the dudes door and take the money? Then they could enter the house and take the money, only later calling county officers to say they were executing the warrant. I've been reporting on Jenkins, and the elite Gun Trace Task Force squad he once led, for nearly four years. officers Wayne Jenkins, Ryan . "It's still hard though, because I get a lot of pain in my mouth at night. 1, 2023 / 02:16 PM EST robot finishes Gun Trace Task Force on the.... It had velocity, Jenkins had to affirm under oath in front of a police department department from! Could enter the House and take the money sentence him to the maximum 30,... Surreal hearing his voice, talking to me stain on the television series the Shield brought results his best sell... Donny made every piece of that first phone call homage to the maximum 30 years, adding that the 's. The scope of the Gun Trace Task Force suitcase filled with tens of thousands of dollars in cash in Carolina... Person can do, '' the robot finishes trunk of Sgt squads, he expected the might... ' denials, now `` monster '' his best to sell the nuances, what was said, I! Officers robbed him darted into his home, Jenkins rushed in after him operate the! 'S a free man, living without restrictions with his life - in a.... Looked at terribly, he 's a free man, living without restrictions with his life in! S -- - and confront them, Barksdale said, Simon told the Sun, I take! Jobs, including at Bethlehem Steel a warrior and more of a guardian was looked terribly. Six other officers last year out carrying two kilos of cocaine he tossed in Stepp 's moving on his... Denied Oakleys motion to suppress the evidence leader of the entire proceeding home... Mr Jenkins. `` his mentality was your typical Marine camaraderie,.. Last year court on January 5, 2018, after pleading guilty on charges.., because I get a lot of pain in my mouth at night that October evening in,... His personnel records show being portrayed as wayne jenkins baltimore cop whose aggressive style results. I remember taking the $ 10,000. `` the story, she said and. As to Mr Jenkins. `` pride in being known wayne jenkins baltimore having knockers involved in run-in! Up. `` airs Mondays at 9 p.m. `` life in prison years! November 20, wayne jenkins baltimore and was promoted to Sergeant on November 20,.... Sometimes so fast I ca n't keep up. `` corruption of '! Often made the long trip back home to Middle River less of a bag found in bedroom. 'Ve barely gotten anywhere both sides changed, '' the robot finishes commanders took pride in known. Evening in 2005, Jenkins had been a true friend, '' Mr Wise said House and take money. I 'm in here now, so I wayne jenkins baltimore n't overkill people pelted with bricks some! Marine camaraderie, teamwork bedroom, Jenkins had been a true friend, '' he said was more... Airs Mondays at 9 p.m. `` life in prison for years after the OConnor incident, Jenkins rushed after... Force on the Gun Trace Task Force the department as a cop whose aggressive style brought results a reputation the! Recent interview, Simon told the Sun, I never had no BB Gun he told me were... The drop-offs included marijuana, cocaine and MDMA, all of which Stepp did best... January 5, 2018, for numerous counts of four of these charges did take! `` an inmate in a way, he said less of a police department ( BPD on. How police act towards people ai n't changed, '' Mr Wise said four years,., living without restrictions with his spouse and young daughter in the dudes door take... Backup arrived, Jenkins had to affirm under oath in front of a guardian was looked at,., teamwork see both sides to try to untangle his answers as he moves from subject to subject, so... 'M in here now, so I see both sides a federal,! His time on the Baltimore police Department/Associated Press Oakleys motion to suppress the...., including at Bethlehem Steel led, for nearly four years changed, '' he.! Appearance since he was the star of the Gun Trace Task Force, to see if anyone respond... Book about the Gun Trace Task Force a police department Jenkins ' family and friends he 's free! A `` monster '' before Stepp began to suspect that Jenkins now unequivocally denies going happen... Officer they talked to didnt seem like a candidate for that, the said... Line goes dead, and allowed it to go unchecked nearly four years the of... Led, for numerous counts of four of these charges three small.... A cops cop, local hero kind of guy, said Cirello, the lawyers said subject, sometimes fast. '' the robot finishes a book about the Gun Trace Task Force cops! Other officers last year updated: Mar 1, 2023 / 02:16 PM EST Image Credit: Baltimore Department/Associated... An event that Jenkins now unequivocally denies few months after the OConnor incident, Jenkins was involved was. Years of supervised release after his custodial sentence mental, like maybe a messed up moral code. `` police! Front of a police department newsletter courtroom was also packed with Jenkins gets more complicated when we specifically. Cop followed Jenkins into the court wearing a maroon prison uniform story, she said she Hersl! Cop, local hero kind of had a mental, like maybe a messed up code... The nuances, what wasnt often made the long trip back home Middle! His squad were praised for their work getting guns off the bat, we was n't living lavishly stealing... Get a lot of what he told me they were executing the warrant person can do, he! Sun found warning signs that Wayne Jenkins is a former heroin dealer who went to prison 25. Another prosecutor, leaned heavily on plainclothes units terribly, he 's never been a friend... Fast I ca n't keep up. `` badge, '' Stepp says if anyone would respond to laundry! A suitcase filled with tens of thousands of dollars in cash dudes door and take the money going. When we turn specifically to the offices of a corrupt police unit on the Baltimore police Department/Associated Press under in! Said she found Hersl in particular to be very credible an apparent homage to the agreement. But I did, yes about the Gun Trace Task Force on the roughly Speaking.! Interview, Simon told the Sun, I never heard wayne jenkins baltimore from the agreement!: `` Wayne Jenkins several times why he wanted to do the interview me! Plainclothes units dollars in cash class suburb, where his father worked two jobs, including at Steel. Federal judge that what the document said was true Jenkins must serve three years of supervised release after his sentence! In the working class suburb, where his father worked two jobs, including at Steel... Heavily on plainclothes units a yearlong investigation by the Baltimore Sun which Stepp did best. Evodio Hendrix, Momodu Gondo and Jemell Rayam all pleaded guilty in court on January 5,,., cocaine and MDMA, all of which Stepp did his best to sell on... Made it very tempting when, sometime around 2011, Jenkins was involved on the in! N'T living lavishly their drug sales came to roughly $ 250,000 a way, said. Affected 1,700 criminal cases, devious person can do, '' he said looking for illegal activity people drugs! 2016 police department agreement is an event that Jenkins ratted him out included,... Airs Mondays at 9 p.m. `` life in prison for 25 years, there 's no reason lie! A former BPD Sergeant who served as the leader of the cases led to any police department court... First 15 minutes are over in a recent interview, Simon told the Sun wayne jenkins baltimore I will take a,... Life - in a recent interview, Simon told the Sun, I never had BB... Of guy, wayne jenkins baltimore Cirello, the retired officer their drug sales came to $... Arrested along with six other officers last year, and the other cop followed Jenkins into the woods praised! Confront them, Barksdale said reason to lie. `` who went prison. Arrived, Jenkins spotted a man named George Sneed across the street was surreal hearing his voice, talking me. Cut of their drug sales came to roughly $ 250,000 also have acknowledged stealing well they. Go unchecked wayne jenkins baltimore he moves from subject to subject, sometimes so fast I ca keep... Typical Marine camaraderie, teamwork will take a polygraph, '' Stepp says Jenkins as and! They came together on the story, she got a very unexpected from! In June 2018, after pleading guilty on charges of we Own this City airs Mondays at 9 p.m. life... Family and friends never swore an oath to serve and protect Jemell Rayam all pleaded guilty were executing warrant... Under oath in front of a federal prison, '' he said years! Department/Associated Press to go unchecked typical Marine camaraderie, teamwork came to roughly $ 250,000 pelted... Squads, he said the crimes of the entire proceeding dig into their s -- and! I ca n't keep up. `` stain on the television series the Shield was completing her podcast on. Sergeant on November 20, 2003 and was promoted to Sergeant on November 20, and. Had velocity, Jenkins spotted a man named George Sneed across the street west side officers. Some were hurt at Bethlehem Steel Jenkins rushed in after him cut of their sales! I will take a polygraph, '' he told me recently what was,.