BALTIMORE (AP) - The Latest on two Baltimore detectives convicted of racketeering, robbery (all times local):
7:10 p.m.
State lawmakers in Maryland are pushing police reform legislation in the aftermath of a federal trial that convicted two Baltimore police detectives of robbery, extortion and racketeering.
Del. Bilal Ali, a Baltimore Democrat, is sponsoring a bill to grant a person at least $50,000 for each year they are wrongly imprisoned, with a maximum award of $5 million. Although the bill doesn’t expand eligibility for such awards, it creates a new award calculation in cases of “law enforcement misconduct.” At least four men arrested by members of the police department’s Gun Trace Task Force have had their cases overturned or have been released early from prison.
Del. Cory McCray, another Baltimore Democrat, is sponsoring a measure to require state auditors to evaluate the effectiveness of the police department’s financial management practices. That’s after members of the task force acknowledged scamming the department out of overtime.
___
7 p.m.
Acting Baltimore Police Commissioner Darryl DeSousa says the department will move to fire detectives Daniel Hersl and Marcus Taylor after their convictions in federal court for robbery, extortion and racketeering.
A federal jury in Baltimore convicted them Monday evening.
The detectives have been suspended without pay since being indicted in March.
DeSousa says in a statement that the department recognizes that “this indictment and subsequent trial uncovered some of the most egregious and despicable acts ever perpetrated in law enforcement.”
____
5:50 p.m.
Two Baltimore detectives have been found guilty of racketeering and robbery in a trial that’s part of an ongoing federal investigation into police corruption.
A federal jury delivered its verdict Monday evening.
Detectives Daniel Hersl and Marcus Taylor faced robbery, extortion and racketeering charges that could land them up to life in prison. They were cleared of possessing a firearm in pursuance of a violent crime.
Their trial has been dominated by testimony of four ex-detectives who worked alongside the defendants in an elite police unit known as the Gun Trace Task Force.
The disgraced law enforcement officers testified that the unit was actually made up of thugs who stole cash, resold looted narcotics, engaged in rampant overtime fraud and lied under oath to cover their tracks.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.