See The List: Public Defender's Office Says Mosby's Release of 91 Baltimore Officers With Credibility Issues Affects 800 Open Cases
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The public defender's office and a nonprofit group are crying foul over Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby's decision to release only a partial list of troubled officers on her 'Do Not Call' list.
These are officers prosecutors will not call to testify in court because they said the officers have credibility problems.
Here is the list.
Here is the state's attorney's methodology for releasing names of officers.
But that list includes only 91 names, despite Mosby previously stating her office has identified 305 troubled officers.
Deborah Katz Levi with the public defender's office told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren there are about 800 active cases involving just the officers whose names have been released.
"That's where our concern is: How many people's liberties have been infringed upon without fair disclosure?" Levi asked.
She said the officers were involved in roughly 300 cases that resulted in plea bargains.
"We ran the names of officers. For some of them, your station has done stories on the criminal charges pending—including kidnapping, extortion and misconduct in office. Those officers' names are not on the list," Levi said. "We wouldn't be doing our job if we didn't say where are the 200-plus more officers that [Mosby] identified previously as having integrity issues."
Mosby first revealed the existence of the list of 305 officers two years ago. "I don't control what happens with the police department and what they do with their employees, but I can make them aware that they probably shouldn't put them in a position to have to testify on the stand," she told Hellgren in December 2019.
She said Friday that the release of 91 names is part of her commitment to transparency.
Here is her full statement:
"While the overwhelming majority of Baltimore Police Department officers are hardworking, dedicated and trustworthy public servants who decidedly risk their lives every day doing what most won't; when a police officer is convicted of a crime and/or their credibility and integrity is compromised, it stifles our ability, as prosecutors, to do our jobs and adequately pursue justice on behalf of the communities that we serve. In order to restore trust and strengthen confidence in law enforcement, we must preserve the integrity of the justice system by being transparent and accountable to the communities we serve. The publishing of our 'Do Not Call' list once again demonstrates our unwavering commitment to transparency and police accountability in Baltimore City, which is why we lobbied and legislatively advocated to be able to do so."
Matt Zernhelt with the nonprofit Baltimore Action Legal Team sued Mosby to get all 305 names.
"When she says she's being transparent, what do you say?" Hellgren asked. "We say that Ms Mosby has really been misleading the public," Zernhelt said.
Few of the officers whose names have been disclosed still work for the department. Some—including members of the disgraced Gun Trace Task Force—are in prison.
"This list being disclosed would completely change the justice environment, and her withholding that is only in her benefit," Zernhelt said.
He also called on Mosby to remove barriers to the public obtaining investigative files on officers. "When we try to get these files she puts up barricade after barricade after barricade so we can't actually see what accountability is going on," he alleged.
WJZ reached out to Mosby's office for comment Monday. She was unavailable.
