In 2017, eight members of the Gun Trace Task Force (GTTF), a unit within the Baltimore City Police Department (BPD), were charged with racketeering, robbery, extortion, and overtime fraud. Six of the eight BPD members pled guilty to various charges. The remaining two officers were convicted in February 2018 after a jury trial in United States District Court in Baltimore. Subsequently, four other BPD officers linked to one of the GTTF defendants pled guilty to lying and engaging in a cover up designed to frame a suspect, and a fifth was convicted after a jury trial in April 2022.
The GTTF scandal, as it is now commonly known, is the most shocking corruption scandal in Baltimore’s history. It has further frayed the historically troubled relationship between BPD and Baltimore residents, especially in communities of color.
On October 23, 2019, BPD Commissioner Michael Harrison and then-City Solicitor Andre Davis announced the initiation of an independent investigation of the GTTF. On October 29, 2019, the Honorable James K. Bredar, the United States District Judge presiding over the BPD consent decree, issued an Order approving BPD’s proposal for an independent investigation of the systemic and structural issues that contributed to the GTTF scandal.
BPD engaged Steptoe & Johnson LLP to conduct the investigation, led by Michael R. Bromwich, a former federal prosecutor and former DOJ Inspector General. After a two-year investigation, Steptoe has completed its work. The final report is here.
The Executive Summary of the report is here.
The press release is here.
BPD Commissioner Michael S. Harrison’s January 14, 2022, Response to GTTF Report is here.
Michael R. Bromwich’s January 18, 2022, Letter to Commissioner Harrison is here.