Baltimore is reeling as eight police officers on the city's Gun Trace Task Force have been indicted on racketeering charges.

The officers involved are accused of executing searches without warrants, invading private homes, robbing suspects and innocent citizens of cash and reselling drugs, according to The Baltimore Sun. The officers also reportedly planted toy guns on unarmed victims of police shootings.

Six of the eight officers involved have pleaded guilty to the charges connected to events that began as early as 2011 when a 19-year-old from New Jersey overdosed in Harford County. They have been identified as Maurice Ward, Jemell
Rayam, Evodio Hendrix, Wayne Jenkins and Momodu
Gando. Officer Sean Suiter, who should have testified in November, was found shot dead with his own gun, per NBC News.

However, Detectives Daniel Hersl and Marcus Taylor have pleaded not guilty. The involved officers have been charged with racketeering, robbery, and possession of a firearm in a crime of violence.

Taylor was indicted on five incidents dating from 2014 to 2016. The indictment states that Taylor participated in the largest robbery which occurred in March 2016. He took $6,500 from a man during a traffic stop, along with other officers in his squad. They then went to the man's home and took an additional $100,000 from a safe.

Moreover, the officers reportedly used Taylor’s cellphone to create a fake video depicting the officers finding the money. They had removed half the cash before the video. Sgt. Wayne Jenkins allegedly divided the cash evenly among the officers with each reportedly receiving at least $20,000.

Jenkins reportedly asked suspected drug dealers questions to obtain more money, such as: “If you could put together a crew of guys and rob the biggest drug dealer in town, who would it be?”

The supervisor of the elite police unit required that officers keep a toy gun on their person just in case an officer shot an unarmed suspect, according to The Root. When Taylor was arrested, officers discovered a toy gun in his glove compartment. In 2016, a 13-year-old boy was shot by police after they believed a toy gun was real. His injuries were not life threatening, per WJZ.

Baltimore Police Corruption

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