State drops charges against 23 correctional officers in 236-count indictment from 2019
By Barry Simms
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BALTIMORE (WBAL) — The state dropped charges late Friday against 23 correctional officers for alleged misconduct in office and abuse of power.
This comes more than two and a half years after a grand jury indicted the officers on allegations of misconduct in office, abuse of power and assault, among other charges.
“The purpose of the alleged enterprise was to maintain its dominance in its operational territory. To achieve this purpose, the alleged enterprise engaged in illegal and excessive force through assaults of inmates, use of threats against inmates and various retaliatory tactics,” Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby said in December 2019.
The Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office announced it’s dropping all criminal charges against two-dozen correctional officers named in the 236-count indictment.
The decision delights one of the accused, who was officer of the year at the facility where he worked.
“He was very happy about it. I thought this was a long time coming. The case never should have been charged,” defense attorney Hunter Pruette said.
In a statement, the state said it still believes the defendants took part in a culture of using excessive force, but after an extensive investigation, and “in light of the dismissal of the assault counts in these matters, the state can no longer legally continue the prosecution.”
The officers worked for the Department of Corrections’ Baltimore Central Regional Tactical Unit and were placed on administrative leave and suspended without pay.
“He lost his job. He couldn’t get a job. They charged him as a gang member. Anybody that searched his name saw he was charged as a gang, which was a true disgrace,” Pruette said.
The Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services appears unwilling to let this go, telling the 11 News I-Team it will review the case and seek all legal options.
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