1 00:00:02,043 --> 00:00:03,627 [static whirs] 2 00:00:03,710 --> 00:00:05,961 [bright tone] 3 00:00:21,585 --> 00:00:22,919 - Here, here, here, here. 4 00:00:23,002 --> 00:00:25,877 He's here. - Okay, you got him? 5 00:00:25,961 --> 00:00:27,794 - Yeah, he's here. He's here, he's here. 6 00:00:27,877 --> 00:00:30,460 - I'd hit play. 7 00:00:30,543 --> 00:00:32,794 - I got one officer down. I got one officer down. 8 00:00:32,877 --> 00:00:35,919 Police. Send the medics over here. 9 00:00:36,002 --> 00:00:39,377 - They're coming, they're coming, they're coming. 10 00:00:39,460 --> 00:00:42,460 [sirens approaching] 11 00:00:43,919 --> 00:00:47,335 - This another officer? - [shouting indistinctly] 12 00:00:47,418 --> 00:00:49,335 - Don't worry. 13 00:00:49,418 --> 00:00:50,835 - Oh, my God. 14 00:00:50,919 --> 00:00:53,835 - Sean, no! Sean! 15 00:00:53,919 --> 00:00:54,961 [indistinct radio chatter] 16 00:00:55,043 --> 00:00:57,627 Sean! 17 00:00:57,710 --> 00:01:02,252 - Don't worry. - Sean! Sean! 18 00:01:02,335 --> 00:01:04,502 Sean! - Do you have the description? 19 00:01:04,585 --> 00:01:07,126 - No, I don't have a description. 20 00:01:07,210 --> 00:01:08,919 - I need Foxtrot, I need Foxtrot. 21 00:01:09,002 --> 00:01:10,335 I need that unit medic right now. 22 00:01:10,418 --> 00:01:11,961 - Sean! 23 00:01:12,043 --> 00:01:14,835 [dramatic music] 24 00:01:14,919 --> 00:01:16,627 - Hold on, hold on. Get his legs, get his legs. 25 00:01:16,710 --> 00:01:19,002 - We should wait for the medic. [indistinct radio chatter] 26 00:01:19,085 --> 00:01:21,126 - Transport him in a car. Officer's down. 27 00:01:21,210 --> 00:01:23,460 Officer down. [indistinct] 28 00:01:23,543 --> 00:01:24,835 We got to transport. 29 00:01:24,919 --> 00:01:26,418 - We got any suspect information? 30 00:01:26,502 --> 00:01:27,752 - I didn't see anyone. 31 00:01:27,835 --> 00:01:29,710 - Sean was calling me to come over here, 32 00:01:29,794 --> 00:01:32,126 and I came around the corner, and shots were fired. 33 00:01:32,210 --> 00:01:34,585 I was watching the other side. 34 00:01:34,669 --> 00:01:37,377 ♪ ♪ 35 00:01:37,460 --> 00:01:39,002 - Come on, bud, what happened? 36 00:01:39,085 --> 00:01:40,335 - We were watching 'cause we thought 37 00:01:40,418 --> 00:01:42,043 we saw someone in the alley. - Uh-huh. 38 00:01:42,126 --> 00:01:43,210 - Sean was covering that corner, 39 00:01:43,293 --> 00:01:44,710 and I was covering over there. 40 00:01:44,794 --> 00:01:46,794 All of a sudden, Sean called me over. 41 00:01:46,877 --> 00:01:48,210 As I was running around the corner, 42 00:01:48,293 --> 00:01:50,835 he started firing, and as he started firing, 43 00:01:50,919 --> 00:01:52,002 Sean fell. 44 00:01:52,085 --> 00:01:53,669 I didn't even see where the shots were coming from. 45 00:01:53,752 --> 00:01:55,502 - Did you fire? - I did not fire. 46 00:01:55,585 --> 00:01:57,168 - Okay, okay. 47 00:01:57,252 --> 00:01:59,043 ♪ ♪ 48 00:01:59,126 --> 00:02:01,502 - Baltimore City Police Detective Sean Suiter has died. 49 00:02:01,585 --> 00:02:04,335 - A man who protected this city for nearly two decades. 50 00:02:04,418 --> 00:02:06,418 - Suspicious killing of a police officer 51 00:02:06,502 --> 00:02:07,710 roiling the city of Baltimore. 52 00:02:07,794 --> 00:02:08,877 - A father of five. 53 00:02:08,961 --> 00:02:12,794 - Someone who gave his life in the line of duty. 54 00:02:12,877 --> 00:02:13,919 [siren wails] 55 00:02:14,002 --> 00:02:16,168 - Everybody in a bad spot, let's get covered. 56 00:02:16,252 --> 00:02:19,919 [indistinct radio chatter] 57 00:02:20,002 --> 00:02:22,794 - Just before 5:00, our 18-year veteran 58 00:02:22,877 --> 00:02:26,085 homicide detective was shot in the head. 59 00:02:28,126 --> 00:02:31,293 - Officer's gun and officer's radio back there. 60 00:02:31,377 --> 00:02:33,085 - They were investigating a murder. 61 00:02:33,168 --> 00:02:37,377 They observed a man engaged in suspicious behaviors. 62 00:02:37,460 --> 00:02:39,335 Detective Suiter got out of his car, 63 00:02:39,418 --> 00:02:42,168 badge displayed on his waistband. 64 00:02:42,252 --> 00:02:44,585 - There was no eyewitness to the shooting. 65 00:02:44,669 --> 00:02:47,585 - Suiter was gunned down in the violent Harlem Park area. 66 00:02:47,669 --> 00:02:51,085 - His partner was around the corner, shots rang out. 67 00:02:51,168 --> 00:02:53,919 ♪ ♪ 68 00:02:54,002 --> 00:02:55,377 - This ain't "Law & Order" 69 00:02:55,460 --> 00:02:56,627 where they find a gun every episode. 70 00:02:56,710 --> 00:02:59,002 You got to work for that shit. 71 00:02:59,085 --> 00:03:00,460 ♪ ♪ 72 00:03:00,543 --> 00:03:03,293 - We have notoriously one of the most corrupt 73 00:03:03,377 --> 00:03:05,794 police forces in the country. 74 00:03:05,877 --> 00:03:08,126 - I hope they looking for the truth. 75 00:03:08,210 --> 00:03:10,085 I want the truth. 76 00:03:10,168 --> 00:03:13,418 - He was shot in the head. How did this happen? 77 00:03:13,502 --> 00:03:14,961 Who did it? 78 00:03:15,043 --> 00:03:16,961 - Officer down. 79 00:03:17,043 --> 00:03:19,752 ♪ ♪ 80 00:03:19,835 --> 00:03:23,418 - There are a myriad of things that could have taken place. 81 00:03:23,502 --> 00:03:25,168 I can theorize. 82 00:03:25,252 --> 00:03:27,210 Pshh, it's Baltimore, don't be surprised 83 00:03:27,293 --> 00:03:28,710 about anything that takes place here. 84 00:03:28,794 --> 00:03:32,543 all: We want justice! We want justice! 85 00:03:32,627 --> 00:03:34,377 We want justice! 86 00:03:34,460 --> 00:03:36,168 - Sean deserves... all: Justice! 87 00:03:36,252 --> 00:03:38,043 - Sean deserves... all: Justice! 88 00:03:38,126 --> 00:03:39,877 - Sean deserves... all: Justice! 89 00:03:39,961 --> 00:03:41,877 - Sean deserves... all: Justice! 90 00:03:41,961 --> 00:03:43,627 - Sean deserves... all: Justice! 91 00:03:43,710 --> 00:03:45,502 - Sean deserves... all: Justice! 92 00:03:45,585 --> 00:03:47,543 - Sean deserves... 93 00:03:47,627 --> 00:03:50,335 - ♪ Tired of being strong ♪ 94 00:03:50,418 --> 00:03:52,460 ♪ In the face of wrong ♪ 95 00:03:52,543 --> 00:03:56,710 ♪ I'm looking for the answers ♪ 96 00:03:56,794 --> 00:03:59,919 ♪ Nobody givin' chances ♪ 97 00:04:00,002 --> 00:04:03,627 ♪ Tired of being strong ♪ 98 00:04:03,710 --> 00:04:05,877 ♪ In the face of wrong ♪ 99 00:04:05,961 --> 00:04:09,085 ♪ I'm looking for the answers ♪ 100 00:04:09,168 --> 00:04:13,543 ♪ Nobody givin' chances ♪ 101 00:04:13,627 --> 00:04:19,627 ♪ Oh, nobody givin' chances ♪ 102 00:04:19,710 --> 00:04:21,669 ♪ Oh ♪ 103 00:04:21,752 --> 00:04:27,043 ♪ Nobody givin' chances ♪ 104 00:04:27,126 --> 00:04:32,043 - Without Sean, life's been different. 105 00:04:32,126 --> 00:04:34,835 Very different. 106 00:04:34,919 --> 00:04:38,543 But, you know, even the strong get weak sometimes. 107 00:04:38,627 --> 00:04:40,418 Everybody always say, "You strong, 108 00:04:40,502 --> 00:04:43,877 you strong, you strong," 109 00:04:43,961 --> 00:04:47,377 but... 110 00:04:47,460 --> 00:04:51,710 I'm not as strong as everybody think I am. 111 00:04:53,293 --> 00:04:54,752 Especially losing your husband 112 00:04:54,835 --> 00:04:58,752 after 17 years being together, 113 00:04:58,835 --> 00:05:00,919 that's tough. 114 00:05:01,002 --> 00:05:03,752 - [smooching] 115 00:05:03,835 --> 00:05:05,877 Give me my kiss. 116 00:05:05,961 --> 00:05:07,418 Mwah! 117 00:05:07,502 --> 00:05:10,543 Give me my kiss. Kissy, kissy. 118 00:05:10,627 --> 00:05:12,460 Mwah! 119 00:05:20,460 --> 00:05:23,335 [keys clacking] 120 00:05:25,293 --> 00:05:27,710 - In Baltimore City, 121 00:05:27,794 --> 00:05:30,168 you can be the most credible person in the world 122 00:05:30,252 --> 00:05:33,585 and have a video of Sean Suiter 123 00:05:33,669 --> 00:05:35,126 actually being murdered, 124 00:05:35,210 --> 00:05:37,210 and you could take that to the cops, 125 00:05:37,293 --> 00:05:39,002 and they probably still wouldn't arrest 126 00:05:39,085 --> 00:05:40,418 whoever murdered that man 127 00:05:40,502 --> 00:05:42,710 or however that situation happened. 128 00:05:49,794 --> 00:05:52,002 It would be hard for me to believe 129 00:05:52,085 --> 00:05:55,919 that somebody can penetrate the system with facts. 130 00:05:56,002 --> 00:05:58,835 Baltimore doesn't work like that. 131 00:06:07,252 --> 00:06:08,877 - The Commissioner addressed 132 00:06:08,961 --> 00:06:11,085 whether the suspect used detective Suiter's 133 00:06:11,168 --> 00:06:12,543 own gun to shoot him, 134 00:06:12,627 --> 00:06:14,710 saying nothing has been ruled out. 135 00:06:14,794 --> 00:06:17,961 Ballistic tests on shell casings recovered in the area 136 00:06:18,043 --> 00:06:20,710 show they're all from a departmental service weapon, 137 00:06:20,794 --> 00:06:23,168 which was the only gun recovered at the scene. 138 00:06:23,252 --> 00:06:25,460 - That doesn't mean that there wasn't a second gun 139 00:06:25,543 --> 00:06:27,794 at that scene as well. 140 00:06:27,877 --> 00:06:30,669 - From the beginning of how this thing was reported, 141 00:06:30,752 --> 00:06:32,377 we just sensed foul play. 142 00:06:32,460 --> 00:06:34,627 - ...about the possibility that someone... 143 00:06:34,710 --> 00:06:37,210 - I saw Twitter blowing up. 144 00:06:37,293 --> 00:06:38,919 - ...gunshot wound that may have been related, but... 145 00:06:39,002 --> 00:06:41,627 - So I'm an editor at Salon.com. 146 00:06:41,710 --> 00:06:43,126 And I really wanted to figure out 147 00:06:43,210 --> 00:06:47,293 who murdered Detective Suiter and why. 148 00:06:47,377 --> 00:06:49,877 What developed for me out of the whole story 149 00:06:49,961 --> 00:06:54,794 is this whole idea of Black lives really don't matter. 150 00:06:54,877 --> 00:06:57,835 Like, even if you're a police officer, they really don't. 151 00:07:00,627 --> 00:07:02,543 This Suiter thing happening in my hometown 152 00:07:02,627 --> 00:07:04,335 made it extremely urgent for me, 153 00:07:04,418 --> 00:07:08,377 because if a police officer cannot be treated fairly, 154 00:07:08,460 --> 00:07:11,460 imagine how they would treat a person like me. 155 00:07:14,585 --> 00:07:17,543 - I'm chillin' on the steps. For what? 156 00:07:17,627 --> 00:07:19,126 What are you touching me for? 157 00:07:19,210 --> 00:07:21,168 - Oh, my God. - What the fuck? 158 00:07:21,252 --> 00:07:23,460 Hey, yo, what the fuck? [indistinct shouting] 159 00:07:26,919 --> 00:07:30,043 - ♪ It ain't no sunshine around my motherfuckin' way ♪ 160 00:07:30,126 --> 00:07:31,961 ♪ I know you heard that they killed Freddie Gray ♪ 161 00:07:32,043 --> 00:07:33,168 ♪ The other day ♪ 162 00:07:33,252 --> 00:07:34,961 ♪ That's why they got us out here prayin' ♪ 163 00:07:35,043 --> 00:07:37,002 ♪ Like some fuckin' slaves ♪ 164 00:07:37,085 --> 00:07:38,835 - Sean Suiter's death occurred 165 00:07:38,919 --> 00:07:41,543 when this police department is still very much reeling 166 00:07:41,627 --> 00:07:46,252 from the 2015 uprising over the death of Freddie Gray. 167 00:07:46,335 --> 00:07:49,585 ♪ ♪ 168 00:07:49,669 --> 00:07:51,752 They're unable to stop crime in the city. 169 00:07:51,835 --> 00:07:56,418 Crime was at a three-year, nonstop spike. 170 00:07:56,502 --> 00:07:59,585 You know, just a lack of trust in this police department 171 00:07:59,669 --> 00:08:02,085 and its ability to investigate a crime 172 00:08:02,168 --> 00:08:05,835 and tell the truth about an investigation of a crime. 173 00:08:05,919 --> 00:08:09,752 - It does happen in the midst of this massive corruption, 174 00:08:09,835 --> 00:08:12,418 of this huge scandal. 175 00:08:12,502 --> 00:08:16,085 ♪ ♪ 176 00:08:16,168 --> 00:08:19,669 One of the worst police corruption cases 177 00:08:19,752 --> 00:08:23,252 in recent American history. 178 00:08:23,335 --> 00:08:25,418 Mind-blowing. 179 00:08:25,502 --> 00:08:27,835 Mind-blowing! 180 00:08:27,919 --> 00:08:33,794 ♪ ♪ 181 00:08:33,877 --> 00:08:35,126 - This is a police department 182 00:08:35,210 --> 00:08:36,877 that was very much on the ropes. 183 00:08:36,961 --> 00:08:40,293 In a way, you know, a hero's funeral for a fallen officer 184 00:08:40,377 --> 00:08:42,627 was a change of pace. 185 00:08:44,919 --> 00:08:46,794 It offered a time to appreciate 186 00:08:46,877 --> 00:08:48,919 what police officers do every day, 187 00:08:49,002 --> 00:08:53,126 to hold up an officer who gave his life in the line of duty 188 00:08:53,210 --> 00:08:55,752 trying to investigate a crime. 189 00:08:55,835 --> 00:09:02,418 ♪ ♪ 190 00:09:02,502 --> 00:09:04,252 It was an awful thing that happened, 191 00:09:04,335 --> 00:09:07,043 but as far as the narrative is concerned, 192 00:09:07,126 --> 00:09:10,335 all the shit that the Baltimore Police Department was taking, 193 00:09:10,418 --> 00:09:13,794 suddenly, people were focused on hardworking cop 194 00:09:13,877 --> 00:09:17,335 losing his life in the line of duty. 195 00:09:17,418 --> 00:09:22,877 - Detective Sean Suiter lived and died a hero. 196 00:09:26,335 --> 00:09:29,252 - The funeral was-- it was huge. 197 00:09:29,335 --> 00:09:30,961 I think it was too much for him, 198 00:09:31,043 --> 00:09:32,627 more than what he would like, 199 00:09:32,710 --> 00:09:37,252 'cause he's not into all the fluff and frill. 200 00:09:37,335 --> 00:09:39,126 - You've taught me so many things, 201 00:09:39,210 --> 00:09:41,502 like how to love myself, family values, 202 00:09:41,585 --> 00:09:44,835 and how to remain calm in some of the toughest situations. 203 00:09:44,919 --> 00:09:48,585 One thing we didn't get to go over was how to handle this. 204 00:09:56,085 --> 00:09:58,168 - I was heartbroken, 205 00:09:58,252 --> 00:10:02,710 losing a partner, losing a friend. 206 00:10:02,794 --> 00:10:05,502 Hell, the day that he was killed, 207 00:10:05,585 --> 00:10:08,043 he looked at us and was like, 208 00:10:08,126 --> 00:10:11,460 "All right, man, let me go out on the street 209 00:10:11,543 --> 00:10:12,835 and try to find this witness." 210 00:10:12,919 --> 00:10:16,877 And I was looking around like, "Okay, I'll go out with you." 211 00:10:18,210 --> 00:10:20,168 He was like, "No, you're gonna rush me." 212 00:10:20,252 --> 00:10:22,210 So I left, 'cause he knew I had to go 213 00:10:22,293 --> 00:10:24,502 and pick my son up from school. 214 00:10:24,585 --> 00:10:27,377 So he was dedicated, and that was the last-- 215 00:10:27,460 --> 00:10:30,335 last I spoke with him from there. 216 00:10:37,377 --> 00:10:39,460 He was a good guy. 217 00:10:39,543 --> 00:10:41,502 He was a good person. 218 00:10:41,585 --> 00:10:45,043 That smile radiated before he opened the door. 219 00:10:45,126 --> 00:10:46,794 That laughter came through 220 00:10:46,877 --> 00:10:49,752 right as soon as he began to talk. 221 00:10:49,835 --> 00:10:51,210 Sitting in a car together, 222 00:10:51,293 --> 00:10:54,043 talking about everything from our family to me 223 00:10:54,126 --> 00:10:58,377 trying to figure out how a D.C. guy who works in Baltimore 224 00:10:58,460 --> 00:11:02,085 and lives in P.G. is a Dallas Cowboys fan. 225 00:11:02,168 --> 00:11:04,210 I said, "Man, you must be the most confused cat 226 00:11:04,293 --> 00:11:08,293 I've ever met before in my life." 227 00:11:08,377 --> 00:11:10,961 - It's hard to find the words to tell a story like this. 228 00:11:11,043 --> 00:11:14,293 It has been a very emotional day. 229 00:11:14,377 --> 00:11:17,418 When he was pronounced dead, like, I knew who he was. 230 00:11:17,502 --> 00:11:23,085 I knew I saw him on an earlier murder. 231 00:11:23,835 --> 00:11:26,460 I had a tweet ready to go with his picture, 232 00:11:26,543 --> 00:11:30,627 and immediately the tweet got retweeted. 233 00:11:30,710 --> 00:11:33,252 And that's when I realized that this guy 234 00:11:33,335 --> 00:11:34,877 is a pretty well-loved guy. 235 00:11:39,585 --> 00:11:40,585 - I knew him for years, 236 00:11:40,669 --> 00:11:41,919 when he was patrolling this area. 237 00:11:42,002 --> 00:11:43,710 He was a good officer, he was real friendly. 238 00:11:43,794 --> 00:11:45,919 He ain't give nobody trouble unless you gave him trouble. 239 00:11:46,002 --> 00:11:47,460 Let me say that. - He got a lot of respect. 240 00:11:47,543 --> 00:11:48,585 - We called him Scarface 241 00:11:48,669 --> 00:11:50,585 because he had a scar on his face. 242 00:11:53,085 --> 00:11:55,002 - My uncles were cops. 243 00:11:55,085 --> 00:11:57,335 My dad was a cop. My cousins were cops. 244 00:11:57,418 --> 00:12:00,543 I come from a long line of blue. 245 00:12:00,627 --> 00:12:03,835 And so I grew up in the culture, and so I know it. 246 00:12:03,919 --> 00:12:07,377 As a reporter, it's worked in my favor. 247 00:12:07,460 --> 00:12:09,877 But, you know, when you cover 248 00:12:09,961 --> 00:12:12,126 a story like this from my perspective 249 00:12:12,210 --> 00:12:14,752 and I'm talking to Nicole Suiter 250 00:12:14,835 --> 00:12:18,126 and I'm seeing the casket, it resonates 251 00:12:18,210 --> 00:12:21,627 because I know my mother spent 25 years 252 00:12:21,710 --> 00:12:25,335 fearing what could happen because her husband was a cop. 253 00:12:33,293 --> 00:12:38,085 - When a cop is killed, it's an attack on American policing. 254 00:12:38,168 --> 00:12:40,377 - What else can you give us right now? 255 00:12:40,460 --> 00:12:41,710 Anything? 256 00:12:41,794 --> 00:12:43,877 - No, I never saw the shooter. - He was there? 257 00:12:43,961 --> 00:12:45,752 - Sean was behind the white van. 258 00:12:45,835 --> 00:12:47,877 Sean peeked out as I was watching the corner here 259 00:12:47,961 --> 00:12:49,210 and from that alley. - Yes. 260 00:12:49,293 --> 00:12:50,877 - Sean waved me on, he said--like this. 261 00:12:50,961 --> 00:12:52,252 And so I started-- - And then Sean went in? 262 00:12:52,335 --> 00:12:54,335 - Sean went in, and he yelled, "Stop! Stop! Stop!" 263 00:12:54,418 --> 00:12:56,002 So I went running, and as I went running, 264 00:12:56,085 --> 00:12:57,210 the shots started to fire. 265 00:12:57,293 --> 00:12:59,710 I saw Sean hit the ground, and I saw, like, parts-- 266 00:12:59,794 --> 00:13:01,252 - Where did you see that from? Here? 267 00:13:01,335 --> 00:13:02,877 - No. No, no, Sarge. 268 00:13:02,961 --> 00:13:05,085 I ran toward the alley where he went in. 269 00:13:05,168 --> 00:13:07,210 - Okay. - You saw where they found him? 270 00:13:07,293 --> 00:13:09,377 So I got to that point, and the shots started firing. 271 00:13:09,460 --> 00:13:12,335 So I started backing out and looking around. 272 00:13:12,418 --> 00:13:15,043 - You don't know if it was from a house or from the street? 273 00:13:15,126 --> 00:13:16,293 - No. 274 00:13:16,377 --> 00:13:18,210 - So he saw something, so most likely he was on foot, right? 275 00:13:18,293 --> 00:13:19,585 - Most likely this guy was on foot. 276 00:13:19,669 --> 00:13:21,543 - All right, let me get that information. 277 00:13:21,627 --> 00:13:24,460 - In the moments and hours and days 278 00:13:24,543 --> 00:13:26,335 after Detective Suiter was killed, 279 00:13:26,418 --> 00:13:28,377 it clearly appeared to be a homicide. 280 00:13:28,460 --> 00:13:30,293 - Be advised... 281 00:13:30,377 --> 00:13:32,418 - There was no reason to think it was anything else 282 00:13:32,502 --> 00:13:35,710 based on what was being said and just the way it played out. 283 00:13:37,794 --> 00:13:39,377 You know, we had an officer shot and killed 284 00:13:39,460 --> 00:13:40,669 in the line of duty. 285 00:13:40,752 --> 00:13:41,877 They were searching for a suspect. 286 00:13:41,961 --> 00:13:46,502 - He is only described as an adult African American male 287 00:13:46,585 --> 00:13:49,627 wearing a black jacket with a white stripe 288 00:13:49,710 --> 00:13:52,710 on the black jacket. 289 00:13:52,794 --> 00:13:55,418 - They told me that my husband was shot, 290 00:13:55,502 --> 00:13:58,252 and I still didn't--it still didn't register in my head. 291 00:13:58,335 --> 00:14:00,418 Like, someone came up to me and said, 292 00:14:00,502 --> 00:14:02,585 he was a-- he was a good man. 293 00:14:02,669 --> 00:14:05,835 I was like, "What you mean, he was a good man?" 294 00:14:05,919 --> 00:14:08,126 And they was like, "No, no, no, no, no. 295 00:14:08,210 --> 00:14:10,168 That's not what she meant." 296 00:14:10,252 --> 00:14:14,460 And I just broke down. 297 00:14:14,543 --> 00:14:16,543 - He couldn't, you know, say what he wanted to say 298 00:14:16,627 --> 00:14:18,585 'cause he was in the bed with tubes in his mouth 299 00:14:18,669 --> 00:14:23,460 and blood coming down, and... 300 00:14:23,543 --> 00:14:26,210 I just couldn't hear his voice 301 00:14:26,293 --> 00:14:29,460 telling me that he's okay. 302 00:14:29,543 --> 00:14:32,418 - The doctors in there, the mayor in there, 303 00:14:32,502 --> 00:14:35,919 I'm like, what is-- this has got to be--this-- 304 00:14:36,043 --> 00:14:39,002 what's going on? 305 00:14:39,085 --> 00:14:42,418 But no one, no one told me he was shot in his head. 306 00:14:46,252 --> 00:14:50,168 - I remember that night I was at shock trauma. 307 00:14:50,252 --> 00:14:51,502 - Questions? - People had been telling us 308 00:14:51,585 --> 00:14:54,168 that he was dead-- it hadn't been confirmed. 309 00:14:54,252 --> 00:14:55,835 And there was this great uncertainty 310 00:14:55,919 --> 00:14:57,335 about what happened. 311 00:14:57,418 --> 00:15:00,460 And my phone rang, and I got a call from someone saying, 312 00:15:00,543 --> 00:15:02,585 "This was a hit. 313 00:15:02,669 --> 00:15:05,418 "He was gonna testify tomorrow against the dirty cops." 314 00:15:05,502 --> 00:15:07,126 It was someone I didn't know, 315 00:15:07,210 --> 00:15:10,877 and they sounded a little nutty. 316 00:15:10,961 --> 00:15:14,835 So I kind of put that in my back pocket. 317 00:15:14,919 --> 00:15:16,669 - A massive presence of federal agents 318 00:15:16,752 --> 00:15:19,377 and Baltimore City Police blanketed the area 319 00:15:19,460 --> 00:15:21,543 around Bennett Place in West Baltimore, 320 00:15:21,627 --> 00:15:23,043 where Detective Sean Suiter 321 00:15:23,126 --> 00:15:25,085 was shot in the head earlier this week. 322 00:15:25,168 --> 00:15:29,585 Police believe the killer is still in Baltimore. 323 00:15:29,669 --> 00:15:32,418 - The initial information that we had to work our way through 324 00:15:32,502 --> 00:15:34,377 was from Detective Bomenka, 325 00:15:34,460 --> 00:15:37,627 who was obviously traumatized by the fact 326 00:15:37,710 --> 00:15:40,168 that he was just with his partner, 327 00:15:40,252 --> 00:15:43,502 at least his partner that day, who was shot. 328 00:15:48,460 --> 00:15:51,919 We were under the impression, based on some tips that we got, 329 00:15:52,002 --> 00:15:55,710 that a suspect was on the loose in the community. 330 00:15:55,794 --> 00:15:58,418 - Police had guns drawn, waiting to move in, 331 00:15:58,502 --> 00:16:01,293 and used an armored car as they searched for a suspect. 332 00:16:01,377 --> 00:16:04,126 [tense music] 333 00:16:04,210 --> 00:16:09,168 ♪ ♪ 334 00:16:09,252 --> 00:16:11,377 - We were held hostage in these houses 335 00:16:11,460 --> 00:16:13,418 for at least five to six days. 336 00:16:13,502 --> 00:16:16,543 For us to be trapped-- even if the event took place, 337 00:16:16,627 --> 00:16:18,293 it took place way up there. 338 00:16:24,919 --> 00:16:27,210 - I remember being down that street, 339 00:16:27,293 --> 00:16:30,710 and there were snipers setting up to raid some of these houses. 340 00:16:30,794 --> 00:16:33,585 - Military tanks in this alley. 341 00:16:33,669 --> 00:16:35,877 He had this sawed-off shotgun 342 00:16:35,961 --> 00:16:39,460 out like this, like they actually had a suspect! 343 00:16:42,627 --> 00:16:44,460 - The regular people in Harlem Park, 344 00:16:44,543 --> 00:16:46,460 they had nothing to do with any of this, 345 00:16:46,543 --> 00:16:48,835 but the abuse that they were willing to subject them to, 346 00:16:48,919 --> 00:16:51,126 police that don't serve and protect them, 347 00:16:51,210 --> 00:16:53,710 police that abuse them... 348 00:16:53,794 --> 00:16:56,794 who said, "Oh, we don't care that we are supposed to be 349 00:16:56,877 --> 00:16:58,835 "operating constitutionally now. 350 00:16:58,919 --> 00:17:01,043 Let's shut down Harlem Park." 351 00:17:01,126 --> 00:17:03,085 And so they're easy targets. 352 00:17:03,168 --> 00:17:06,085 - My name had came up in a conversation that, uh, 353 00:17:06,168 --> 00:17:07,502 dealing with Sean Suiter, 354 00:17:07,585 --> 00:17:09,043 and that's when they came and raided my house 355 00:17:09,126 --> 00:17:12,335 November the 19th and took me down for questioning. 356 00:17:12,418 --> 00:17:13,585 - They trashed the house. 357 00:17:13,669 --> 00:17:15,418 Our living room set. Trashed everything. 358 00:17:15,502 --> 00:17:18,043 We didn't get none of that back--computers. 359 00:17:19,669 --> 00:17:22,752 - We had a great deal of trouble 360 00:17:22,835 --> 00:17:25,168 recovering all of the evidence. 361 00:17:25,252 --> 00:17:28,210 When Sean Suiter runs into that space, 362 00:17:28,293 --> 00:17:32,210 Detective Bomenka hears three gunshots. 363 00:17:32,293 --> 00:17:35,669 Pop, pop, pause, and then pop. 364 00:17:37,835 --> 00:17:39,877 We couldn't find where those bullets landed. 365 00:17:39,961 --> 00:17:42,543 We couldn't locate a strike mark from those bullets, 366 00:17:42,627 --> 00:17:47,335 either in the ground or on the adjacent walls. 367 00:17:47,418 --> 00:17:49,543 Did they strike another person? 368 00:17:51,377 --> 00:17:54,961 We are absolutely certain that the community will stand 369 00:17:55,043 --> 00:17:56,961 with the Baltimore Police Department 370 00:17:57,043 --> 00:17:59,794 to bring this heartless, ruthless, 371 00:17:59,877 --> 00:18:02,961 soulless killer to justice. 372 00:18:03,043 --> 00:18:06,043 [somber music] 373 00:18:06,126 --> 00:18:13,043 ♪ ♪ 374 00:18:13,126 --> 00:18:16,210 - Coming up in East Baltimore, the streets was home. 375 00:18:16,293 --> 00:18:17,919 So I hit the streets, and I hit them hard, 376 00:18:18,002 --> 00:18:22,543 and I've done everything from selling crack to heroin 377 00:18:22,627 --> 00:18:24,252 and back and forth again, 378 00:18:24,335 --> 00:18:26,919 and I had some good times, and I had some bad times. 379 00:18:27,002 --> 00:18:28,961 And I made some really, really good friends 380 00:18:29,043 --> 00:18:31,126 that I thought would last forever. 381 00:18:31,210 --> 00:18:34,460 And one of them friends put a gun right to my head. 382 00:18:34,543 --> 00:18:37,961 So I've pretty much, like, saw everything in the streets 383 00:18:38,043 --> 00:18:40,460 and... 384 00:18:40,543 --> 00:18:43,794 in that time, you learn about these police officers. 385 00:18:43,877 --> 00:18:45,835 You learn about how they move and how they operate. 386 00:18:45,919 --> 00:18:49,418 You learn the intricate part they play into the world 387 00:18:49,502 --> 00:18:51,168 that--that we lived in. 388 00:18:54,210 --> 00:18:57,293 I'm a person who has seen the ugly side of law enforcement. 389 00:19:04,877 --> 00:19:07,877 - It's now been 16 days since the shooting of Sean Suiter. 390 00:19:07,961 --> 00:19:10,043 It happened back there where that blue tarp is, 391 00:19:10,126 --> 00:19:11,919 back through this very narrow little area, 392 00:19:12,002 --> 00:19:15,043 with very little opportunity for people to see 393 00:19:15,126 --> 00:19:17,377 what may have happened back there. 394 00:19:17,460 --> 00:19:19,293 The Suiter case is not the first time 395 00:19:19,377 --> 00:19:21,168 the Baltimore Police Department was criticized 396 00:19:21,252 --> 00:19:22,710 for "sloppy scenes," 397 00:19:22,794 --> 00:19:25,210 for not having proper incident command. 398 00:19:25,293 --> 00:19:29,543 And, I mean, one of the questions that exists right now 399 00:19:29,627 --> 00:19:31,293 is, how come this department can't get it right? 400 00:19:31,377 --> 00:19:33,418 They didn't take photographs. 401 00:19:33,502 --> 00:19:36,543 They didn't properly record parts of the crime scene. 402 00:19:36,627 --> 00:19:40,002 There were people traipsing in and out of that scene at will. 403 00:19:44,335 --> 00:19:47,085 The suicide theory, which did come up today, 404 00:19:47,168 --> 00:19:48,961 is just a possible theory. 405 00:19:49,043 --> 00:19:51,752 The commissioner says it's not a leading theory at all, 406 00:19:51,835 --> 00:19:55,710 but it is under consideration. 407 00:19:55,794 --> 00:20:00,752 There was this "mistake made" about the entry wound, 408 00:20:00,835 --> 00:20:03,085 allegedly by the hospital, 409 00:20:03,168 --> 00:20:06,002 that identified the entry wound as the left side of the head 410 00:20:06,085 --> 00:20:08,085 as opposed to the right side of head. 411 00:20:08,168 --> 00:20:09,418 Well, if his gun-- 412 00:20:09,502 --> 00:20:12,168 if his radio is in his left hand, which it was, 413 00:20:12,252 --> 00:20:16,085 and he's right-handed, think of what you have do 414 00:20:16,168 --> 00:20:18,335 to get yourself to get a gunshot wound 415 00:20:18,418 --> 00:20:21,502 into the left side of the head and kill yourself, okay? 416 00:20:21,585 --> 00:20:26,669 So that information, which they operated on for four days 417 00:20:26,752 --> 00:20:29,002 until it was cleared up at autopsy, 418 00:20:29,085 --> 00:20:30,794 that, no, no, no, it's the right side of the head 419 00:20:30,877 --> 00:20:32,627 and it's a close contact gunshot wound, 420 00:20:32,710 --> 00:20:34,252 which is very indicative 421 00:20:34,335 --> 00:20:36,543 of potentially a self-inflicted wound. 422 00:20:36,627 --> 00:20:39,794 So, for four days, this investigation operated 423 00:20:39,877 --> 00:20:42,002 on a false assumption. 424 00:20:42,085 --> 00:20:44,710 And that is that he was shot on the left side of the head. 425 00:20:48,126 --> 00:20:49,460 - The suicide theory emerged 426 00:20:49,543 --> 00:20:51,460 because there was factions within the police department 427 00:20:51,543 --> 00:20:53,293 that believed there was a cover-up taking place, 428 00:20:53,377 --> 00:20:55,293 that they were chasing a phantom killer, 429 00:20:55,377 --> 00:20:57,210 that they were having a hero's funeral, 430 00:20:57,293 --> 00:20:59,126 and they were offering a giant reward 431 00:20:59,210 --> 00:21:01,710 and tearing apart the city looking for somebody 432 00:21:01,794 --> 00:21:03,168 who didn't exist. 433 00:21:03,252 --> 00:21:04,710 But once that emerged, 434 00:21:04,794 --> 00:21:06,543 once that got into the public domain, 435 00:21:06,627 --> 00:21:08,961 people started to believe that that was a cover-up, 436 00:21:09,043 --> 00:21:11,293 that that was an attempt for a police department 437 00:21:11,377 --> 00:21:13,210 that was making no inroads 438 00:21:13,293 --> 00:21:15,335 on solving the killing of one of their own 439 00:21:15,418 --> 00:21:17,669 and was trying to sort of redirect people 440 00:21:17,752 --> 00:21:20,002 and blame the officer himself. 441 00:21:22,085 --> 00:21:24,669 Both views of the case are grounded 442 00:21:24,752 --> 00:21:27,252 in a distrust of the police department. 443 00:21:30,085 --> 00:21:32,877 - And so now you have, 444 00:21:32,961 --> 00:21:35,252 was this a homicide, 445 00:21:35,335 --> 00:21:38,377 or was this a suicide? 446 00:21:38,460 --> 00:21:41,293 You're in that hole without a lot of facts. 447 00:21:42,877 --> 00:21:44,377 I think it quickly became, 448 00:21:44,460 --> 00:21:46,585 well, which one do we have evidence for, 449 00:21:46,669 --> 00:21:49,418 and which one do you believe? 450 00:21:49,502 --> 00:21:51,418 I'm not paid to tell you what I think. 451 00:21:51,502 --> 00:21:54,085 I'm paid to tell you what I know, 452 00:21:54,168 --> 00:21:56,585 and we don't know shit about this case. 453 00:22:01,293 --> 00:22:03,502 - A week after Baltimore detective Sean Suiter 454 00:22:03,585 --> 00:22:05,752 was shot and killed, the revelation 455 00:22:05,835 --> 00:22:08,043 from the city's police commissioner was stunning. 456 00:22:08,126 --> 00:22:11,210 Suiter was set to testify before a federal grand jury 457 00:22:11,293 --> 00:22:14,710 the next day against eight elite Baltimore officers 458 00:22:14,794 --> 00:22:18,752 already indicted in a police corruption investigation. 459 00:22:18,835 --> 00:22:21,002 - And that was... 460 00:22:21,085 --> 00:22:22,585 wow. 461 00:22:22,669 --> 00:22:26,835 This certainly throws a wrinkle on the case big-time. 462 00:22:26,919 --> 00:22:28,460 - Suiter wasn't just any officer 463 00:22:28,543 --> 00:22:30,168 who was shot and killed. 464 00:22:30,252 --> 00:22:33,710 He was also a federal witness against other police officers. 465 00:22:33,794 --> 00:22:35,752 - If I'm about to go to court 466 00:22:35,835 --> 00:22:37,585 and you're supposed to testify on me, 467 00:22:37,669 --> 00:22:39,627 and now you're gone? 468 00:22:39,710 --> 00:22:41,293 Come on. 469 00:22:43,794 --> 00:22:46,002 - It was a lot of reporting about what he knew, 470 00:22:46,085 --> 00:22:47,126 what he didn't know, 471 00:22:47,210 --> 00:22:49,543 what he was going to testify to. 472 00:22:49,627 --> 00:22:53,794 Was he going to get pulled into this big, massive scandal? 473 00:22:53,877 --> 00:22:56,377 Was he a dirty cop? Was he a dirty cop? 474 00:22:56,460 --> 00:22:58,002 Did he off himself in an alley? 475 00:22:58,085 --> 00:23:00,043 Is this suicide? 476 00:23:00,126 --> 00:23:02,877 Or did someone along the way in the police department 477 00:23:02,961 --> 00:23:04,418 make sure he was killed 478 00:23:04,502 --> 00:23:07,794 so he wouldn't testify to what he knew? 479 00:23:09,794 --> 00:23:11,377 We don't know. 480 00:23:11,460 --> 00:23:14,043 Did he have damning evidence 481 00:23:14,126 --> 00:23:16,002 on other officers in the department? 482 00:23:16,085 --> 00:23:17,919 We don't know. 483 00:23:21,752 --> 00:23:26,043 - You cannot add more drama and conspiracy to this. 484 00:23:28,210 --> 00:23:29,627 Being a media relations chief, 485 00:23:29,710 --> 00:23:32,961 coming into an environment where there is a big trust gap, 486 00:23:33,043 --> 00:23:37,460 I'm trying to open up the doors and give people a glimpse in 487 00:23:37,543 --> 00:23:40,794 without compromising the integrity of investigations, 488 00:23:40,877 --> 00:23:43,543 which is also important. 489 00:23:43,627 --> 00:23:46,418 We know that people are clamoring for information. 490 00:23:46,502 --> 00:23:49,752 We say so little, sometimes it's not enough clarity. 491 00:23:49,835 --> 00:23:51,252 - Are there any other fingerprints 492 00:23:51,335 --> 00:23:52,418 besides the detective's? 493 00:23:52,502 --> 00:23:55,418 - We're not going to get into those-- 494 00:23:55,502 --> 00:23:57,377 We're not getting into all the specifics 495 00:23:57,460 --> 00:23:59,418 of every piece of evidence we have. 496 00:24:03,794 --> 00:24:07,877 So it was just ripe for conspiracy. 497 00:24:07,961 --> 00:24:10,210 It comes to-- look at the partner. 498 00:24:10,293 --> 00:24:11,835 The partner had something to do with it. 499 00:24:11,919 --> 00:24:13,961 It's like, come on. 500 00:24:14,043 --> 00:24:16,794 When you know things to be absolutely, 501 00:24:16,877 --> 00:24:19,002 unequivocally false, 502 00:24:19,085 --> 00:24:23,794 it's hard to sit back and just listen to it. 503 00:24:23,877 --> 00:24:26,252 You talk about frustrating and upsetting, it's like-- 504 00:24:26,335 --> 00:24:29,085 people are just making up stuff. 505 00:24:29,168 --> 00:24:30,961 Literally making it up. 506 00:24:31,043 --> 00:24:33,961 [somber piano music] 507 00:24:34,043 --> 00:24:37,126 ♪ ♪ 508 00:24:37,210 --> 00:24:41,252 - There is no information that has been communicated to me 509 00:24:41,335 --> 00:24:44,335 that Detective Suiter was anything other than 510 00:24:44,418 --> 00:24:48,377 a stellar detective, great friend, loving husband, 511 00:24:48,460 --> 00:24:51,710 and dedicated father. 512 00:24:51,794 --> 00:24:54,752 When I asked the FBI to take over the investigation, 513 00:24:54,835 --> 00:24:58,710 I did so knowing that if they had any information 514 00:24:58,794 --> 00:25:00,460 or even a shred of information 515 00:25:00,543 --> 00:25:02,210 that this could have been a conspiracy 516 00:25:02,293 --> 00:25:06,126 to murder Sean Suiter that was orchestrated by other cops, 517 00:25:06,210 --> 00:25:08,669 if the FBI thought that that was the case 518 00:25:08,752 --> 00:25:11,002 for one millisecond, in my opinion, 519 00:25:11,085 --> 00:25:14,418 they would have taken over that investigation in a heartbeat. 520 00:25:14,502 --> 00:25:15,919 [indistinct chatter] 521 00:25:16,002 --> 00:25:18,835 The fact that they did not take over the investigation 522 00:25:18,919 --> 00:25:20,752 was an indicator to me 523 00:25:20,835 --> 00:25:22,794 that they didn't believe that theory. 524 00:25:22,877 --> 00:25:24,168 In the letter, it says, 525 00:25:24,252 --> 00:25:25,919 "No information has been developed to indicate 526 00:25:26,002 --> 00:25:28,085 "Detective Suiter's death was directly connected 527 00:25:28,168 --> 00:25:30,085 to an FBI investigation." 528 00:25:30,168 --> 00:25:31,877 - I think it's very strange that the feds 529 00:25:31,961 --> 00:25:35,252 did not get involved in the investigation of the shooting. 530 00:25:35,335 --> 00:25:36,961 This guy was killed the day 531 00:25:37,043 --> 00:25:39,877 he's supposed to go testify in a grand jury for you, 532 00:25:39,961 --> 00:25:42,460 and he's dead from a gunshot wound. 533 00:25:42,543 --> 00:25:46,002 Like, why wouldn't that be a federal case? 534 00:25:46,085 --> 00:25:48,377 Leo Wise, the Assistant U.S. Attorney, 535 00:25:48,460 --> 00:25:50,794 told me that as soon as he got the phone call 536 00:25:50,877 --> 00:25:54,043 that Suiter had been shot, he believed it to be a suicide. 537 00:25:54,126 --> 00:25:56,543 I found that to be a remarkable statement. 538 00:25:56,627 --> 00:25:58,418 You wonder if that has to do with the things 539 00:25:58,502 --> 00:26:00,335 that they had heard along the way about him. 540 00:26:02,377 --> 00:26:05,085 - The information that was given to me by the FBI 541 00:26:05,168 --> 00:26:06,627 and the U.S. Attorney's office, 542 00:26:06,710 --> 00:26:08,502 Sean Suiter was never the target 543 00:26:08,585 --> 00:26:11,293 of any of their corruption investigations. 544 00:26:11,377 --> 00:26:13,961 He was merely scheduled to testify 545 00:26:14,043 --> 00:26:15,418 in front of a grand jury 546 00:26:15,502 --> 00:26:19,460 about an ongoing corruption investigation. 547 00:26:19,543 --> 00:26:22,335 They told me, in fact, word for word, 548 00:26:22,418 --> 00:26:24,961 "Sean Suiter was not a dirty cop." 549 00:26:38,126 --> 00:26:42,210 - March 1, 2017, earlier that year, 550 00:26:42,293 --> 00:26:44,585 seven members of the Baltimore Police Department 551 00:26:44,669 --> 00:26:46,377 are arrested. 552 00:26:46,460 --> 00:26:48,377 - The case began about a year ago. 553 00:26:48,460 --> 00:26:50,543 It involved a covert investigation. 554 00:26:50,627 --> 00:26:53,418 The seven defendants were members 555 00:26:53,502 --> 00:26:55,377 of the Gun Trace Task Force. 556 00:26:55,460 --> 00:26:58,126 I'm Sergeant Wayne Jenkins of the Gun Trace Task Force. 557 00:26:58,210 --> 00:27:02,627 - Their job was to go out and get guns off of people 558 00:27:02,710 --> 00:27:04,210 that were illegally possessing them 559 00:27:04,293 --> 00:27:06,335 and carrying them on the streets of Baltimore. 560 00:27:06,418 --> 00:27:09,627 Unfortunately, we found out the methodology 561 00:27:09,710 --> 00:27:11,502 they were using to go out there and do it. 562 00:27:11,585 --> 00:27:14,418 - The seven officers are charged with racketeering. 563 00:27:14,502 --> 00:27:17,126 Some of the suspects face up to life in prison. 564 00:27:17,210 --> 00:27:19,752 Others, decades in jail. 565 00:27:19,835 --> 00:27:21,919 - They were robbing drug dealers in the city 566 00:27:22,002 --> 00:27:26,293 with precision and investigatory skill. 567 00:27:26,377 --> 00:27:28,418 They had black hockey masks, 568 00:27:28,502 --> 00:27:31,002 fake guns that they would place 569 00:27:31,085 --> 00:27:33,085 into people's cars to frame them. 570 00:27:33,168 --> 00:27:34,961 It was a mob in the middle of the city 571 00:27:35,043 --> 00:27:37,085 run by the Baltimore Police Department. 572 00:27:37,168 --> 00:27:40,043 - Hey, come downstairs right quick. 573 00:27:40,126 --> 00:27:42,210 They about to get it open. 574 00:27:42,293 --> 00:27:43,210 - They really got them. 575 00:27:43,293 --> 00:27:45,126 I mean, they had them on wiretaps. 576 00:27:45,210 --> 00:27:47,919 Like, they had evidence, hard evidence of what was going on. 577 00:27:48,002 --> 00:27:50,835 - Do not--nobody touches-- You understand me right now? 578 00:27:50,919 --> 00:27:52,794 - I'm keeping the camera rolling. 579 00:27:52,877 --> 00:27:55,502 - This video, taken in March 2016, in the basement 580 00:27:55,585 --> 00:27:57,543 of a Northeast Baltimore drug dealer, 581 00:27:57,627 --> 00:28:00,085 shows former Baltimore sergeant Wayne Jenkins, 582 00:28:00,168 --> 00:28:02,085 who led the Gun Trace Task Force, 583 00:28:02,168 --> 00:28:05,002 recording the discovery of a safe they blasted open. 584 00:28:05,085 --> 00:28:07,585 But federal prosecutors say the video 585 00:28:07,669 --> 00:28:10,794 was really a reenactment to cover up the fact 586 00:28:10,877 --> 00:28:13,919 another 200,000 was taken from the same dealer by Jenkins 587 00:28:14,002 --> 00:28:15,669 and other members of the gun squad. 588 00:28:20,085 --> 00:28:21,543 - This was seven officers, 589 00:28:21,627 --> 00:28:22,919 it went on to be eight, you know, 590 00:28:23,002 --> 00:28:25,335 charged with just, like, blatant corruption, 591 00:28:25,418 --> 00:28:26,877 blatant misconduct. 592 00:28:26,961 --> 00:28:28,252 Some of their best and brightest, 593 00:28:28,335 --> 00:28:29,418 some of their most efficient, 594 00:28:29,502 --> 00:28:32,835 and they're being accused of egregious crimes 595 00:28:32,919 --> 00:28:35,293 over a long period of time. 596 00:28:39,627 --> 00:28:42,002 We put this here to try to visualize everybody, 597 00:28:42,085 --> 00:28:46,002 to see how they're connected. 598 00:28:46,085 --> 00:28:48,669 You have these officers who pleaded guilty 599 00:28:48,752 --> 00:28:52,126 who are trying to get lesser sentences. 600 00:28:52,210 --> 00:28:54,085 Before he became a homicide detective, 601 00:28:54,168 --> 00:28:57,335 Suiter was working with these guys. 602 00:28:57,418 --> 00:29:00,752 Jenkins is the leader of the squad when they get indicted. 603 00:29:00,835 --> 00:29:04,961 Suiter had worked with Ward. He'd worked with Jenkins. 604 00:29:05,043 --> 00:29:08,627 He'd worked with Rayam and Gondo at times. 605 00:29:08,710 --> 00:29:10,627 Of course, his grand jury testimony 606 00:29:10,710 --> 00:29:13,252 was about a case in which he and Jenkins 607 00:29:13,335 --> 00:29:15,502 had arrested somebody. 608 00:29:17,168 --> 00:29:19,293 So he was being asked to come in to testify 609 00:29:19,377 --> 00:29:22,085 before a grand jury about his role in that. 610 00:29:25,835 --> 00:29:28,669 - This is the case in which Detective Sean Suiter 611 00:29:28,752 --> 00:29:30,752 was scheduled to appear before a grand jury, 612 00:29:30,835 --> 00:29:33,168 the day after he was murdered. 613 00:29:33,252 --> 00:29:35,669 Suiter was going to testify about this scene 614 00:29:35,752 --> 00:29:38,335 back in 2010 where a high-speed chase 615 00:29:38,418 --> 00:29:41,002 ended with a collision with another car, killing one 616 00:29:41,085 --> 00:29:44,627 and destroying this front porch in Northwest Baltimore. 617 00:29:44,710 --> 00:29:47,877 [uneasy music] 618 00:29:47,961 --> 00:29:50,835 - On this particular day, these police officers, 619 00:29:50,919 --> 00:29:54,085 they saw a couple Black guys in a car, 620 00:29:54,168 --> 00:29:56,168 figured they might have something on them. 621 00:29:56,252 --> 00:29:58,460 "Let's take a run at them." 622 00:29:58,543 --> 00:30:01,252 You can't do that, but they did it, 623 00:30:01,335 --> 00:30:04,377 and they did it every day... 624 00:30:04,460 --> 00:30:06,585 all over the city. 625 00:30:06,669 --> 00:30:10,585 - The only thing true about that particular police report 626 00:30:10,669 --> 00:30:14,877 was that we had a car accident and somebody died. 627 00:30:14,961 --> 00:30:16,418 Everything else was a lie. 628 00:30:16,502 --> 00:30:21,377 ♪ ♪ 629 00:30:21,460 --> 00:30:24,919 - This is the actual spot that I was parked in. 630 00:30:25,002 --> 00:30:27,168 I noticed 631 00:30:27,252 --> 00:30:29,418 through my side view mirror 632 00:30:29,502 --> 00:30:33,043 that a car was approaching. 633 00:30:33,126 --> 00:30:35,210 There was two cars that pulled up. 634 00:30:35,293 --> 00:30:39,210 One pulled in the front, and one pulled behind me. 635 00:30:42,543 --> 00:30:46,752 - Wayne Jenkins and Ryan Guinn were in the first car. 636 00:30:46,835 --> 00:30:50,293 Detective Suiter was in the rear car. 637 00:30:50,377 --> 00:30:55,669 Like a car pulling up not wanting to damage the car, 638 00:30:55,752 --> 00:30:57,585 but it was more so, I believe, 639 00:30:57,669 --> 00:31:00,502 them to get us tight in as possible 640 00:31:00,585 --> 00:31:01,961 so they can do whatever it is 641 00:31:02,043 --> 00:31:04,418 that they were attempting to do. 642 00:31:04,502 --> 00:31:07,460 Now the car in back of me bumps me. 643 00:31:07,543 --> 00:31:12,585 I turned my head to see, and then I heard doors opening. 644 00:31:12,669 --> 00:31:15,085 And that alerted my attention to the front, 645 00:31:15,168 --> 00:31:19,377 and they was actually out the car with guns drawn, 646 00:31:19,460 --> 00:31:24,085 with masks on their face, and all I could see was their eyes. 647 00:31:27,418 --> 00:31:29,168 - These were not police cars. 648 00:31:29,252 --> 00:31:30,794 Our clients, of course, would not know 649 00:31:30,877 --> 00:31:32,293 that they were police cars. 650 00:31:32,377 --> 00:31:34,252 There were no lights, there were no sirens. 651 00:31:34,335 --> 00:31:36,669 When they took off, they genuinely believed 652 00:31:36,752 --> 00:31:38,669 that they were being robbed. 653 00:31:38,752 --> 00:31:41,085 - They know why we fled. 654 00:31:41,168 --> 00:31:43,627 You know, we didn't know who the hell they were. 655 00:31:43,710 --> 00:31:46,335 They were right on our tail the whole time. 656 00:31:46,418 --> 00:31:50,543 The only thing we was thinking about is our lives. 657 00:31:52,210 --> 00:31:56,460 - I began to go on very fast down Belle Avenue. 658 00:31:56,543 --> 00:32:00,502 I could see another car at a stop sign. 659 00:32:00,585 --> 00:32:03,543 So I'm trying to turn away from the car, 660 00:32:03,627 --> 00:32:06,418 and we end up turning the same way. 661 00:32:09,835 --> 00:32:11,669 - Police say it was these two, 662 00:32:11,752 --> 00:32:13,710 Umar Burley and Brent Matthews, 663 00:32:13,794 --> 00:32:16,043 who were fleeing police and crashed into a car 664 00:32:16,126 --> 00:32:19,210 on the corner of Belle and Gwynn Oak Avenue, 665 00:32:19,293 --> 00:32:22,210 killing the father of a Baltimore City police officer. 666 00:32:25,585 --> 00:32:27,543 - The officers, they realized 667 00:32:27,627 --> 00:32:31,002 they had a serious problem on their hands. 668 00:32:31,085 --> 00:32:32,835 It was a high-speed chase. 669 00:32:32,919 --> 00:32:38,126 Couldn't justify the chase, the stop, nothing. 670 00:32:38,210 --> 00:32:41,543 Didn't find any drugs in the car, 671 00:32:41,627 --> 00:32:43,794 didn't find any weapons in the car. 672 00:32:43,877 --> 00:32:46,627 They jacked up these two men 673 00:32:46,710 --> 00:32:50,418 for no reasonable articulable suspicion, 674 00:32:50,502 --> 00:32:52,752 no criminality afoot. 675 00:32:52,835 --> 00:32:53,877 So what did they do? 676 00:32:53,961 --> 00:32:58,752 They got on the phone, and they called in for heroin 677 00:32:58,835 --> 00:33:00,877 to plant inside the vehicle. 678 00:33:00,961 --> 00:33:04,335 My clients believed that Gladstone was the officer 679 00:33:04,418 --> 00:33:07,210 that showed up with the heroin. 680 00:33:07,293 --> 00:33:10,168 Matthews and Burley were wrongly convicted 681 00:33:10,252 --> 00:33:12,877 and sent to prison. 682 00:33:12,961 --> 00:33:15,835 They framed Mr. Burley and Mr. Matthews 683 00:33:15,919 --> 00:33:19,335 to justify their own criminality. 684 00:33:21,043 --> 00:33:24,669 - 28 grams of heroin. [chuckles] 685 00:33:24,752 --> 00:33:28,460 That's a lot of heroin to just pop up in the car. 686 00:33:28,543 --> 00:33:29,669 [scoffs] 687 00:33:29,752 --> 00:33:35,126 The depths that people go through to save their own skin. 688 00:33:35,210 --> 00:33:38,168 [uneasy music] 689 00:33:38,252 --> 00:33:42,794 ♪ ♪ 690 00:33:42,877 --> 00:33:45,669 - Sergeant Wayne Jenkins was already a key player 691 00:33:45,752 --> 00:33:47,710 in the Baltimore police corruption case. 692 00:33:47,794 --> 00:33:50,418 Now he faces another 20 years in prison, 693 00:33:50,502 --> 00:33:53,961 the result of new charges that he planted drugs in a car 694 00:33:54,043 --> 00:33:58,085 in 2010 to justify chasing the driver and a passenger. 695 00:33:58,168 --> 00:34:01,794 Sean Suiter was involved in the original stop of the vehicle 696 00:34:01,877 --> 00:34:03,877 and the chase, the indictment says. 697 00:34:03,961 --> 00:34:07,961 It suggests he was set up to recover the drugs. 698 00:34:08,043 --> 00:34:10,168 - Obviously it was a concerted effort, 699 00:34:10,252 --> 00:34:12,002 as they were blocked in. 700 00:34:12,085 --> 00:34:16,710 Jenkins and Guinn got out of the car with guns and masks. 701 00:34:16,794 --> 00:34:19,835 It would be difficult to imagine that the car back here, 702 00:34:19,919 --> 00:34:22,502 that detective Suiter wouldn't have seen that. 703 00:34:22,585 --> 00:34:24,418 Unfortunately, you know, 704 00:34:24,502 --> 00:34:27,126 we're never going to exactly know who planted the drugs, 705 00:34:27,210 --> 00:34:28,627 whether it was Jenkins himself. 706 00:34:28,710 --> 00:34:30,669 Jenkins denied planting them. 707 00:34:30,752 --> 00:34:32,085 It could be Suiter-- we don't know. 708 00:34:32,168 --> 00:34:34,961 Suiter was the one that recovered them. 709 00:34:35,043 --> 00:34:37,585 I'm not sure that you can believe any of the officers 710 00:34:37,669 --> 00:34:39,752 'cause it's all self-serving, 711 00:34:39,835 --> 00:34:43,460 but we do know they were working together. 712 00:34:43,543 --> 00:34:50,585 ♪ ♪ 713 00:35:10,252 --> 00:35:13,168 - Getting to the truth in these incidents is difficult. 714 00:35:13,252 --> 00:35:16,335 I think that there are people lying on all sides. 715 00:35:16,418 --> 00:35:19,168 We do not have an independent eyewitness 716 00:35:19,252 --> 00:35:21,460 between the officers and Umar Burley. 717 00:35:21,543 --> 00:35:24,168 One idea I had was to do a public records request to see 718 00:35:24,252 --> 00:35:25,543 if they would turn over the dispatch audio, 719 00:35:25,627 --> 00:35:26,961 so I got that today. 720 00:35:29,126 --> 00:35:30,919 This audio is from the moment. 721 00:35:31,002 --> 00:35:32,627 This is real time, what they were saying 722 00:35:32,710 --> 00:35:35,210 before anybody knew that this was going to happen. 723 00:35:37,710 --> 00:35:39,585 I'm trying to figure out how this-- 724 00:35:39,669 --> 00:35:41,835 was Wayne Jenkins and Sean Suiter, 725 00:35:41,919 --> 00:35:43,710 were they robbing people with masks on 726 00:35:43,794 --> 00:35:45,418 in the middle of the day in 2010? 727 00:35:45,502 --> 00:35:46,961 Because if that's true, 728 00:35:47,043 --> 00:35:49,710 Sean Suiter is incredibly corrupt. 729 00:35:49,794 --> 00:35:52,168 Going back seven years before his death, 730 00:35:52,252 --> 00:35:53,669 he was rolling around the city 731 00:35:53,752 --> 00:35:55,877 in the middle of the day with masks on robbing people. 732 00:35:55,961 --> 00:35:58,752 So... 733 00:35:58,835 --> 00:36:00,293 yep. 734 00:36:00,377 --> 00:36:02,418 They actually give the tag number 735 00:36:02,502 --> 00:36:04,418 before the crash, before the chase even. 736 00:36:04,502 --> 00:36:05,919 There is no doubt about it. 737 00:36:06,002 --> 00:36:08,460 They're discussing stopping this guy on the radio 738 00:36:08,543 --> 00:36:10,168 that other officers are listening to. 739 00:36:10,252 --> 00:36:11,669 I think that's telling. 740 00:36:11,752 --> 00:36:14,585 If you're robbing somebody, I don't know that you do that. 741 00:36:14,669 --> 00:36:16,293 That's a good thing for Sean Suiter's case 742 00:36:16,377 --> 00:36:19,627 that he's not corrupt. 743 00:36:19,710 --> 00:36:22,961 But that's with the caveat that these guys lied, 744 00:36:23,043 --> 00:36:25,460 they covered their tracks, they knew how to do it. 745 00:36:25,543 --> 00:36:27,627 So anything's possible. 746 00:36:27,710 --> 00:36:29,961 - A car crash. 747 00:36:30,043 --> 00:36:32,252 Guys, they're running, trying to shoot each other. 748 00:36:32,335 --> 00:36:34,252 There is a 911 call from a citizen, 749 00:36:34,335 --> 00:36:36,460 who is coming on to this as it's happening. 750 00:36:36,543 --> 00:36:38,835 And she sees a car crashed into a fire hydrant. 751 00:36:38,919 --> 00:36:41,252 She thinks it's regular people just chasing 752 00:36:41,335 --> 00:36:43,627 after each other with guns, and--which is interesting. 753 00:36:43,710 --> 00:36:45,752 I mean, if they had their lights and sirens on, 754 00:36:45,835 --> 00:36:47,585 wouldn't you know that they were cops? 755 00:36:47,669 --> 00:36:49,252 Three of them. 756 00:36:49,335 --> 00:36:50,627 - The one with the gun had on an orange sweatshirt? 757 00:36:50,710 --> 00:36:52,377 - Right. 758 00:36:52,460 --> 00:36:54,669 - There's things on this that go towards one narrative 759 00:36:54,752 --> 00:36:56,961 and things that go towards the other narrative. 760 00:36:58,460 --> 00:37:01,002 - Federal Prosecutors now say 761 00:37:01,085 --> 00:37:02,877 Burley and Matthews are innocent. 762 00:37:02,961 --> 00:37:04,835 Today their convictions were vacated. 763 00:37:04,919 --> 00:37:08,752 - I may have been released, but nothing has changed. 764 00:37:08,835 --> 00:37:11,752 My life will never be the same again. 765 00:37:19,627 --> 00:37:21,627 - We've had, as a firm, as a lawyer, 766 00:37:21,710 --> 00:37:23,502 and as a resident of Baltimore, 767 00:37:23,585 --> 00:37:26,961 some familiarity with these rogue police units. 768 00:37:27,043 --> 00:37:31,502 But I had never seen a situation 769 00:37:31,585 --> 00:37:35,377 where the federal government overtly made efforts 770 00:37:35,460 --> 00:37:38,877 to pull someone out of prison and release them. 771 00:37:38,961 --> 00:37:41,168 - The federal judge called their convictions 772 00:37:41,252 --> 00:37:44,794 the result of "raw, crude police corruption." 773 00:37:51,002 --> 00:37:54,877 - The key player in the investigation of Sean Suiter 774 00:37:54,961 --> 00:37:57,043 is Wayne Jenkins... 775 00:37:57,126 --> 00:37:58,669 because Suiter was the one 776 00:37:58,752 --> 00:38:03,669 who was supposed to testify against Jenkins. 777 00:38:03,752 --> 00:38:04,877 You know, I would never say 778 00:38:04,961 --> 00:38:06,835 that a person committed a murder 779 00:38:06,919 --> 00:38:08,502 unless I knew they did it. 780 00:38:08,585 --> 00:38:11,002 I would never say a person had ordered a murder 781 00:38:11,085 --> 00:38:12,168 unless I knew they did it, 782 00:38:12,252 --> 00:38:14,377 but what I will say is that they're very capable of it. 783 00:38:14,460 --> 00:38:16,085 Police officers kill people all the time. 784 00:38:16,168 --> 00:38:22,752 ♪ ♪ 785 00:38:22,835 --> 00:38:24,085 If I was the suspect 786 00:38:24,168 --> 00:38:25,752 I'm probably going to go this way, 787 00:38:25,835 --> 00:38:28,043 because that's too open and that's too open. 788 00:38:28,126 --> 00:38:30,418 This shit is too residential. 789 00:38:35,835 --> 00:38:37,710 And I'm gone. [laughs] 790 00:38:37,794 --> 00:38:40,002 I'm gonna hit this corner, and I'm gone. 791 00:38:41,627 --> 00:38:42,877 [chuckles] 792 00:38:42,961 --> 00:38:44,168 They took the black jacket off 793 00:38:44,252 --> 00:38:45,919 and put their police uniform back on. 794 00:38:46,002 --> 00:38:50,710 [chuckles] And then they just went ahead about their business. 795 00:38:50,794 --> 00:38:52,543 When I was a kid, right, 796 00:38:52,627 --> 00:38:54,710 I had a real good friend named D.I., 797 00:38:54,794 --> 00:38:56,752 and he got shot in the head. 798 00:38:56,835 --> 00:38:59,460 He was holding a Walkman, and the first thing he did 799 00:38:59,543 --> 00:39:02,002 was drop the Walkman before he hit the ground. 800 00:39:02,085 --> 00:39:03,835 And that was the first thing I thought about 801 00:39:03,919 --> 00:39:06,835 when I started, like, piecing together information 802 00:39:06,919 --> 00:39:08,377 on what happened to Sean Suiter. 803 00:39:08,460 --> 00:39:11,627 You shoot yourself in the back of your head, as they say, 804 00:39:11,710 --> 00:39:13,961 and you still squeezing your radio tight, it's just-- 805 00:39:14,043 --> 00:39:15,585 I don't know, it's a little strange to me. 806 00:39:15,669 --> 00:39:17,252 It doesn't really-- it doesn't sound right. 807 00:39:34,919 --> 00:39:37,252 - I first heard about D. Watkins-- 808 00:39:37,335 --> 00:39:39,043 I read a review of one of his books 809 00:39:39,126 --> 00:39:40,377 in "The New York Times." 810 00:39:40,460 --> 00:39:43,961 I mean, I was interested in an actual, authentic story 811 00:39:44,043 --> 00:39:45,502 from somebody who was in the game, 812 00:39:45,585 --> 00:39:46,877 who was in the street, 813 00:39:46,961 --> 00:39:49,002 who was sort of, I guess, on the other side, 814 00:39:49,085 --> 00:39:50,919 if that makes sense. 815 00:39:53,293 --> 00:39:55,585 I think Sean Suiter was killed 816 00:39:55,669 --> 00:39:58,502 because he was going to testify in front of a grand jury. 817 00:39:58,585 --> 00:40:00,460 - What would you be thinking in your office? 818 00:40:00,543 --> 00:40:02,126 Would you be like, "Yo, we got to look into this," 819 00:40:02,210 --> 00:40:04,002 or you'd just be like-- 820 00:40:04,085 --> 00:40:07,627 - I would be thinking, who's left? 821 00:40:07,710 --> 00:40:09,961 [chuckles] Who's left from the Gun Trace Task Force 822 00:40:10,043 --> 00:40:11,794 who hasn't been federally indicted? 823 00:40:11,877 --> 00:40:14,126 And I don't mean the core group of guys. 824 00:40:14,210 --> 00:40:17,794 I mean supervisors, 825 00:40:17,877 --> 00:40:20,293 outside people, you know, 826 00:40:20,377 --> 00:40:22,002 and the city police department may not know. 827 00:40:22,085 --> 00:40:23,877 Only the feds may know that information. 828 00:40:23,961 --> 00:40:27,543 But there's obviously somebody else out there 829 00:40:27,627 --> 00:40:29,085 with something to lose. 830 00:40:29,168 --> 00:40:31,877 The Gun Trace Task Force was making somebody look good 831 00:40:31,961 --> 00:40:34,460 because they're bringing in so many gun arrests. 832 00:40:34,543 --> 00:40:37,585 And those commanders don't want to know. 833 00:40:37,669 --> 00:40:39,502 They don't want to know what they're doing 834 00:40:39,585 --> 00:40:40,710 to get all these guns. 835 00:40:40,794 --> 00:40:42,085 They don't care. 836 00:40:42,168 --> 00:40:44,210 They don't want to know how the food's being made. 837 00:40:44,293 --> 00:40:45,710 They just want to eat it. 838 00:40:45,794 --> 00:40:48,002 - Suiter probably thought the department had his back, 839 00:40:48,085 --> 00:40:50,627 and they probably did, all the way up until they didn't. 840 00:40:50,710 --> 00:40:52,043 - But remember, 841 00:40:52,126 --> 00:40:56,293 Suiter was testifying to events back from 2010 842 00:40:56,377 --> 00:40:59,377 when he worked with some of the guys in another drug unit. 843 00:40:59,460 --> 00:41:02,543 There are other people involved in that scandal 844 00:41:02,627 --> 00:41:06,252 that I'm sure are trying to protect themselves at all costs. 845 00:41:06,335 --> 00:41:09,252 [tense music] 846 00:41:09,335 --> 00:41:16,293 ♪ ♪ 847 00:41:19,043 --> 00:41:21,210 - A major development from the witness stand 848 00:41:21,293 --> 00:41:24,293 where former Baltimore City Police detective Momodu Gondo 849 00:41:24,377 --> 00:41:25,752 made a stunning admission. 850 00:41:25,835 --> 00:41:27,919 He says Detective Sean Suiter 851 00:41:28,002 --> 00:41:30,043 stole money when the two worked together 852 00:41:30,126 --> 00:41:33,460 in a specialized enforcement unit a decade ago. 853 00:41:43,710 --> 00:41:47,252 - Detective Gondo was, I think, pretty unequivocal 854 00:41:47,335 --> 00:41:50,752 that he had stolen money with other officers for a long time, 855 00:41:50,835 --> 00:41:53,543 and he described it as being something that officers did 856 00:41:53,627 --> 00:41:56,252 to sort of fit in, to gain each other's trust. 857 00:41:56,335 --> 00:41:58,126 That if I know that you're stealing money 858 00:41:58,210 --> 00:41:59,752 and you know that I'm stealing money 859 00:41:59,835 --> 00:42:01,126 then we've got each other's back. 860 00:42:01,210 --> 00:42:02,543 We're both in on this together, 861 00:42:02,627 --> 00:42:05,585 and he said he was stealing money with Sean Suiter. 862 00:42:08,835 --> 00:42:12,043 - Gondo was, without question, reliable, 863 00:42:12,126 --> 00:42:14,752 the most trustworthy, 864 00:42:14,835 --> 00:42:18,293 truthful cooperator that they had, and... 865 00:42:18,377 --> 00:42:22,585 - Gondo said he was dirty on the witness stand. 866 00:42:22,669 --> 00:42:27,502 So, if you look at those weeks leading up to November 15th, 867 00:42:27,585 --> 00:42:30,669 what's Sean Suiter looking at 868 00:42:30,752 --> 00:42:33,961 as he headed for that grand jury appearance? 869 00:42:35,919 --> 00:42:40,460 He knows that Momodu Gondo has pleaded guilty. 870 00:42:40,543 --> 00:42:42,627 He was cooperating with the feds, 871 00:42:42,710 --> 00:42:45,210 and he was willing to talk. 872 00:42:45,293 --> 00:42:50,835 October 24th, the FBI came to visit Sean Suiter. 873 00:42:50,919 --> 00:42:53,460 He refused to be interviewed by them, 874 00:42:53,543 --> 00:42:55,585 and they delivered a subpoena for him to appear 875 00:42:55,669 --> 00:42:57,502 before the federal grand jury. 876 00:42:57,585 --> 00:42:59,919 What we learned after Suiter's death 877 00:43:00,002 --> 00:43:03,293 is that Gondo told the federal authorities, 878 00:43:03,377 --> 00:43:05,627 while he was cooperating, that Suiter was dirty. 879 00:43:05,710 --> 00:43:07,919 There's a lot to look at. 880 00:43:10,961 --> 00:43:14,043 - He's gone from an officer who died in the line of duty 881 00:43:14,126 --> 00:43:16,794 investigating a homicide in a dangerous part of town 882 00:43:16,877 --> 00:43:18,710 to having his whole history questioned, 883 00:43:18,794 --> 00:43:21,502 is sort of a shocking development. 884 00:43:25,335 --> 00:43:28,835 - Before we be too judgmental, you know, 885 00:43:28,919 --> 00:43:30,919 I mean, it's enticing. 886 00:43:31,002 --> 00:43:32,710 You know, you're dealing with a dope dealer. 887 00:43:32,794 --> 00:43:34,002 Who's going to believe him? 888 00:43:34,085 --> 00:43:35,502 It's not like he earned this money. 889 00:43:35,585 --> 00:43:36,794 I mean, you know, it's greed. 890 00:43:36,877 --> 00:43:38,210 It's greed that's motivated this, 891 00:43:38,293 --> 00:43:40,460 but, I mean, that's what you see all over, 892 00:43:40,543 --> 00:43:41,669 from top to bottom. 893 00:43:41,752 --> 00:43:43,543 From Washington to, you know, to Baltimore, 894 00:43:43,627 --> 00:43:45,835 the motivating factor was the greed. 895 00:43:45,919 --> 00:43:49,126 [sirens blaring] 896 00:43:55,335 --> 00:44:00,210 - Sean's death showed me how cruel life can be sometimes. 897 00:44:00,293 --> 00:44:05,752 And his love showed me how life can also be good. 898 00:44:08,710 --> 00:44:11,585 We just have a lot of unanswered questions. 899 00:44:13,377 --> 00:44:17,043 I always believe someone seen something. 900 00:44:17,126 --> 00:44:19,418 I always believe that. 901 00:44:19,502 --> 00:44:22,126 Love you, Sean. 902 00:44:28,168 --> 00:44:30,252 - There exists a serious tug-of-war 903 00:44:30,335 --> 00:44:31,794 within the Baltimore Police Department 904 00:44:31,877 --> 00:44:33,794 over what this case is. 905 00:44:33,877 --> 00:44:36,293 The people advocating the suicide theory say 906 00:44:36,377 --> 00:44:38,460 the evidence was mischaracterized 907 00:44:38,543 --> 00:44:40,710 and it wasn't explained. 908 00:44:40,794 --> 00:44:41,877 There was a suspect. 909 00:44:41,961 --> 00:44:44,293 There was a guy seen with a white stripe on his jacket. 910 00:44:44,377 --> 00:44:47,002 It turns out, as more information came along, 911 00:44:47,085 --> 00:44:49,002 that that was somebody that they had spotted 912 00:44:49,085 --> 00:44:51,835 earlier in the afternoon. 913 00:44:51,919 --> 00:44:53,585 And people say that Detective Suiter, 914 00:44:53,669 --> 00:44:55,752 maybe he sensed that trouble was coming. 915 00:44:55,835 --> 00:44:57,460 He's a father of five. 916 00:44:57,543 --> 00:44:59,043 There's a financial incentive 917 00:44:59,126 --> 00:45:02,752 to have the death appear to be a murder... 918 00:45:02,835 --> 00:45:04,377 that that would be the kind of death 919 00:45:04,460 --> 00:45:07,085 that his family would continue to receive benefits. 920 00:45:07,168 --> 00:45:08,794 If it's a straight-up suicide, 921 00:45:08,877 --> 00:45:10,585 it's ruled that and everybody knows it, 922 00:45:10,669 --> 00:45:13,168 you don't get benefits. 923 00:45:13,252 --> 00:45:14,961 You know, people within the police department, 924 00:45:15,043 --> 00:45:16,335 they're pointing to dirt on his leg 925 00:45:16,418 --> 00:45:18,669 and saying that that's proof of a violent struggle. 926 00:45:18,752 --> 00:45:21,168 Is that proof of a violent struggle? 927 00:45:21,252 --> 00:45:22,502 - Hold on, get his legs, get his legs. 928 00:45:22,585 --> 00:45:24,418 - We should wait for the medic. 929 00:45:24,502 --> 00:45:26,669 - Transport him in a car. Officer's down. 930 00:45:26,752 --> 00:45:28,418 Officer down. 931 00:45:28,502 --> 00:45:30,710 - I actually attended the academy with Sean Suiter. 932 00:45:30,794 --> 00:45:32,835 Really quiet guy, really nice. 933 00:45:32,919 --> 00:45:35,293 Always, like, you know-- even though he's quiet, 934 00:45:35,377 --> 00:45:39,418 he was always smiling, easy to get along with. 935 00:45:39,502 --> 00:45:41,210 I would cross paths with him here or there, 936 00:45:41,293 --> 00:45:43,126 and we remembered each other from the academy 937 00:45:43,210 --> 00:45:46,252 and would kind of like, just like, "Hey, what's going on?" 938 00:45:46,335 --> 00:45:49,794 In Internal Affairs, I handled all specialized units, 939 00:45:49,877 --> 00:45:52,335 which would've included units Sean Suiter was in. 940 00:45:52,418 --> 00:45:55,210 So I never saw his name in a complaint. 941 00:45:55,293 --> 00:45:58,377 I never heard of him being involved in a complaint. 942 00:45:58,460 --> 00:46:00,752 I never heard a supervisor or another cop 943 00:46:00,835 --> 00:46:03,085 ever say anything negative about Sean. 944 00:46:03,168 --> 00:46:05,543 He's just a guy I could never imagine even-- 945 00:46:05,627 --> 00:46:08,585 even doing anything wrong. 946 00:46:08,669 --> 00:46:10,710 I know for a fact that there are plenty 947 00:46:10,794 --> 00:46:12,919 of corrupt cops within the department, 948 00:46:13,002 --> 00:46:14,377 because I investigated some of them 949 00:46:14,460 --> 00:46:17,835 and they remain in that department. 950 00:46:17,919 --> 00:46:19,335 Jenkins waited for me 951 00:46:19,418 --> 00:46:22,335 after work one day at Internal Affairs 952 00:46:22,418 --> 00:46:25,835 because I was investigating some of his guys. 953 00:46:25,919 --> 00:46:27,543 And he, like, corners me in the parking lot, 954 00:46:27,627 --> 00:46:29,002 and he's, like, right up in my face. 955 00:46:29,085 --> 00:46:30,293 Like, I thought he was going to hit me. 956 00:46:30,377 --> 00:46:33,168 Like, that was it, we were going to go. 957 00:46:33,252 --> 00:46:37,126 Mentally I just broke. I couldn't take it anymore. 958 00:46:37,210 --> 00:46:39,919 I attempted suicide twice. 959 00:46:40,002 --> 00:46:43,085 I mean, for years, I had been sort of struggling 960 00:46:43,168 --> 00:46:46,794 with what the mission of the police department was. 961 00:46:46,877 --> 00:46:48,252 I was afraid to speak up 962 00:46:48,335 --> 00:46:50,961 about a lot of the things I had seen. 963 00:46:51,043 --> 00:46:53,919 I was investigating cases where I felt like 964 00:46:54,002 --> 00:46:56,043 maybe I was in danger, 965 00:46:56,126 --> 00:46:59,710 you know, retaliation from cops I was investigating. 966 00:46:59,794 --> 00:47:02,543 I finally realized, I mean, I can't work in the police-- 967 00:47:02,627 --> 00:47:04,460 I can't stay. I just had to quit. 968 00:47:04,543 --> 00:47:05,669 It was going to kill me. 969 00:47:05,752 --> 00:47:06,877 It was going to kill me one way or the other. 970 00:47:06,961 --> 00:47:10,543 [dark music] 971 00:47:10,627 --> 00:47:14,835 I just didn't understand how shitty cops 972 00:47:14,919 --> 00:47:17,877 get through that department unscathed, unpunished, 973 00:47:17,961 --> 00:47:20,919 and Sean lost his life in that department. 974 00:47:21,002 --> 00:47:27,961 ♪ ♪ 975 00:47:33,043 --> 00:47:36,085 - When I became the Baltimore Police Commissioner in 2015, 976 00:47:36,168 --> 00:47:40,168 I was on Larry Young's morning talk show on WOLB. 977 00:47:40,252 --> 00:47:45,293 He said, "Make sure you rent and don't buy." 978 00:47:45,377 --> 00:47:47,710 The mayor, Catherine Pugh, 979 00:47:47,794 --> 00:47:50,252 wanted Sean Suiter's investigation 980 00:47:50,335 --> 00:47:52,752 to be solved in a hurry. 981 00:47:52,835 --> 00:47:56,210 She saw it as a stain on her mayoral administration, 982 00:47:56,293 --> 00:47:59,002 and she grew growingly frustrated with me 983 00:47:59,085 --> 00:48:00,794 that it wasn't solved, 984 00:48:00,877 --> 00:48:03,669 and I grew growingly frustrated with her 985 00:48:03,752 --> 00:48:06,168 that she was interfering with the integrity 986 00:48:06,252 --> 00:48:08,168 of a murder investigation. 987 00:48:08,252 --> 00:48:10,543 - It has been a revolving door 988 00:48:10,627 --> 00:48:12,168 at the top of the Police Department. 989 00:48:12,252 --> 00:48:15,252 This is the third commissioner since 2015. 990 00:48:15,335 --> 00:48:16,543 - Commissioner Kevin Davis 991 00:48:16,627 --> 00:48:18,335 was fired in January. 992 00:48:18,418 --> 00:48:19,961 And the Mayor installed 993 00:48:20,043 --> 00:48:21,585 Darryl De Sousa as Commissioner. 994 00:48:21,669 --> 00:48:23,002 One of my topics to talk to him about 995 00:48:23,085 --> 00:48:24,252 was the Sean Suiter case. 996 00:48:24,335 --> 00:48:26,961 Do you have an idea of what you think happened? 997 00:48:27,043 --> 00:48:28,961 - I have an idea I'm not going to share it right now, 998 00:48:29,043 --> 00:48:31,794 but I can tell you that I am bringing a independent, 999 00:48:31,877 --> 00:48:34,168 outside source to come in and take a look at it. 1000 00:48:34,252 --> 00:48:35,919 - And that was the big headline that came out of that 1001 00:48:36,002 --> 00:48:38,460 was the new commissioner was going to push forward 1002 00:48:38,543 --> 00:48:41,669 on an independent review board on the Sean Suiter case. 1003 00:48:50,377 --> 00:48:52,543 - We all went up to the police headquarters, 1004 00:48:52,627 --> 00:48:54,710 and they put on a big dog-and-pony show for us 1005 00:48:54,794 --> 00:48:57,377 about who's going to be looking into this and who's that. 1006 00:48:57,460 --> 00:48:59,210 Everyone had a great résumé. 1007 00:48:59,293 --> 00:49:02,335 There's some old homicide cops on there from BPD, 1008 00:49:02,418 --> 00:49:04,043 police officers from around the country. 1009 00:49:04,126 --> 00:49:06,752 - It's an open criminal investigation 1010 00:49:06,835 --> 00:49:08,543 requiring confidentiality. 1011 00:49:08,627 --> 00:49:11,168 - They said they are not going to reinvestigate the homicide. 1012 00:49:11,252 --> 00:49:13,335 They're going to look at everything around it. 1013 00:49:13,418 --> 00:49:15,585 And they said, "But it's not going to be done 1014 00:49:15,669 --> 00:49:16,835 "out in the public, 1015 00:49:16,919 --> 00:49:18,794 "so we're gonna vote to close the meeting, 1016 00:49:18,877 --> 00:49:21,043 and then that's the last thing we're gonna hear." 1017 00:49:21,126 --> 00:49:22,835 - I want to thank you all for coming 1018 00:49:22,919 --> 00:49:24,543 and for being so cooperative. 1019 00:49:24,627 --> 00:49:26,252 Thank you all very much. 1020 00:49:26,335 --> 00:49:28,252 - And then sandwiches came, 1021 00:49:28,335 --> 00:49:30,585 and all of the journalists had to go. 1022 00:49:30,669 --> 00:49:32,085 People want to know what happened, 1023 00:49:32,168 --> 00:49:34,752 and they're going to try to put something together 1024 00:49:34,835 --> 00:49:36,293 to make people feel comfortable. 1025 00:49:36,377 --> 00:49:38,919 You know, they got to have a story, 1026 00:49:39,002 --> 00:49:41,418 'cause you can't let a cop die without a story, 1027 00:49:41,502 --> 00:49:46,002 not in America, definitely not in Baltimore City. 1028 00:49:46,085 --> 00:49:49,002 [somber music] 1029 00:49:49,085 --> 00:49:56,043 ♪ ♪ 1030 00:49:58,669 --> 00:50:00,085 - Could you talk to us a little bit 1031 00:50:00,168 --> 00:50:02,502 just about your client's state of mind right now? 1032 00:50:02,585 --> 00:50:06,126 - Well, as he said in court, Mr. Ward is very remorseful, 1033 00:50:06,210 --> 00:50:08,752 very sorry about what happened. 1034 00:50:15,877 --> 00:50:17,794 - What happened? 1035 00:50:17,877 --> 00:50:20,460 - Wayne Jenkins received 25 years in prison. 1036 00:50:20,543 --> 00:50:23,210 It was not the maximum. 1037 00:50:23,293 --> 00:50:25,460 He turned around and faced the crowd, 1038 00:50:25,543 --> 00:50:27,710 and for several minutes apologized for his conduct. 1039 00:50:27,794 --> 00:50:28,794 He was sobbing. 1040 00:50:28,877 --> 00:50:31,002 His voice was cracking throughout. 1041 00:50:33,043 --> 00:50:34,252 - I'm sorry for your loss. 1042 00:50:34,335 --> 00:50:36,043 - Thank you. 1043 00:50:42,335 --> 00:50:45,293 - When I look at the whole case as presented, 1044 00:50:45,377 --> 00:50:48,126 the most shocking thing to me 1045 00:50:48,210 --> 00:50:52,460 was on April 27, 2015, 1046 00:50:52,543 --> 00:50:55,794 when the drug stores were being burned and looted, 1047 00:50:55,877 --> 00:50:58,002 Jenkins was stealing the drugs. 1048 00:50:58,085 --> 00:51:01,126 He was looting the looters. 1049 00:51:01,210 --> 00:51:04,502 Trash bags full of stolen pharmaceuticals. 1050 00:51:04,585 --> 00:51:06,460 You talk about brazen. 1051 00:51:06,543 --> 00:51:09,002 A Baltimore police sergeant in charge 1052 00:51:09,085 --> 00:51:11,293 of an elite Gun Trace Task Force 1053 00:51:11,377 --> 00:51:13,418 was looting. 1054 00:51:13,502 --> 00:51:16,669 I mean, we had to have the National Guard come in here. 1055 00:51:18,168 --> 00:51:22,293 That really kind of sums up the brazenness 1056 00:51:22,377 --> 00:51:27,710 with which this group of people operated. 1057 00:51:27,794 --> 00:51:30,919 - In Baltimore, there was a Viking-like mentality 1058 00:51:31,002 --> 00:51:33,210 for many, many years that encouraged 1059 00:51:33,293 --> 00:51:35,335 the slippery slope behaviors 1060 00:51:35,418 --> 00:51:38,502 that that Gun Trace Task Force went down. 1061 00:51:38,585 --> 00:51:41,293 We tend to give those all-star cops a pass 1062 00:51:41,377 --> 00:51:42,585 because they do what? 1063 00:51:42,669 --> 00:51:44,210 They go out, they hunt, they gather, 1064 00:51:44,293 --> 00:51:45,919 they bring back bad guys and drugs 1065 00:51:46,002 --> 00:51:49,585 and guns and search warrants and cash. 1066 00:52:09,627 --> 00:52:12,126 - He didn't deserve this. He was a good person. 1067 00:52:12,210 --> 00:52:14,293 You're either a good person or a bad person. 1068 00:52:14,377 --> 00:52:16,043 He was a good person. 1069 00:52:16,126 --> 00:52:18,460 - The first time I ever got kicked in the ribs 1070 00:52:18,543 --> 00:52:20,085 by a cop when I was laying on the ground 1071 00:52:20,168 --> 00:52:22,252 for saying something slick out my mouth, 1072 00:52:22,335 --> 00:52:25,794 this officer, his name was Daniel Hersl. 1073 00:52:25,877 --> 00:52:28,794 This hero, that was him. 1074 00:52:28,877 --> 00:52:30,752 [overlapping shouting] 1075 00:52:30,835 --> 00:52:32,835 - I was in my 20s, early 20s, 1076 00:52:32,919 --> 00:52:35,043 and he kicked the shit out of me. 1077 00:52:35,126 --> 00:52:37,710 And I'm like, "Bitch..." [chuckles] Right? 1078 00:52:37,794 --> 00:52:39,085 But you can't do nothing. 1079 00:52:39,168 --> 00:52:42,043 ♪ ♪ 1080 00:52:42,126 --> 00:52:43,710 People in the neighborhood, they knew Hersl. 1081 00:52:43,794 --> 00:52:46,043 They knew Hersl wanted money... all the time. 1082 00:52:46,126 --> 00:52:48,168 It's like he always had a bill due. 1083 00:52:48,252 --> 00:52:51,002 Daniel Hersl should have, like, $100 million buried somewhere 1084 00:52:51,085 --> 00:52:53,669 'cause he was always on the prowl. 1085 00:52:57,585 --> 00:53:00,126 And as you can tell by the big smile on Danny Hersl's face, 1086 00:53:00,210 --> 00:53:02,126 they are having a good time, 1087 00:53:02,210 --> 00:53:03,418 and this is just boxes of stuff 1088 00:53:03,502 --> 00:53:05,794 they're stealing out of these people's apartment. 1089 00:53:05,877 --> 00:53:07,835 - So, when my editor first asked me 1090 00:53:07,919 --> 00:53:09,961 to get into the human side of Danny Hersl, 1091 00:53:10,043 --> 00:53:11,627 I was like, "Yo, fuck that." 1092 00:53:11,710 --> 00:53:13,877 He lost his ability to be defined as a human 1093 00:53:13,961 --> 00:53:16,877 when he started fucking robbing and stealing 1094 00:53:16,961 --> 00:53:20,126 and ripping off taxpayers while we pay his salary. 1095 00:53:20,210 --> 00:53:21,961 So it's like, how do you get to be a human? 1096 00:53:22,043 --> 00:53:24,210 I thought that was like some classic white privilege shit. 1097 00:53:24,293 --> 00:53:26,335 You know, you do some evil shit, and we got to say, 1098 00:53:26,418 --> 00:53:28,627 "Oh, he was a lone wolf. Oh, he was tortured." 1099 00:53:28,710 --> 00:53:30,085 You know, I was like, 1100 00:53:30,168 --> 00:53:33,210 how the fuck am I going to do that? 1101 00:53:33,293 --> 00:53:35,335 But then I had to sit back and realize, 1102 00:53:35,418 --> 00:53:36,669 well, you know what? 1103 00:53:36,752 --> 00:53:39,335 [chuckles] D. Watkins, you did some fucked-up things. 1104 00:53:39,418 --> 00:53:41,002 You know, you ran these streets, 1105 00:53:41,085 --> 00:53:42,669 and you did all this wild stuff, 1106 00:53:42,752 --> 00:53:44,502 so you don't deserve to be treated as a human. 1107 00:53:44,585 --> 00:53:47,085 There's no shot at redemption for you. 1108 00:53:58,210 --> 00:54:00,460 I'm from East Baltimore, 1109 00:54:00,543 --> 00:54:05,085 and Daniel Hersl is from East Baltimore. 1110 00:54:05,168 --> 00:54:06,293 I like difficult. 1111 00:54:06,377 --> 00:54:09,752 This is a chance to define a cultural moment 1112 00:54:09,835 --> 00:54:12,835 and tell the story of two boys from East Baltimore 1113 00:54:12,919 --> 00:54:16,002 who completely had opposite paths. 1114 00:54:16,085 --> 00:54:17,377 I started out in the street, 1115 00:54:17,460 --> 00:54:19,210 and I ended up as a college professor. 1116 00:54:19,293 --> 00:54:21,377 He started out as a police officer 1117 00:54:21,460 --> 00:54:24,377 and then ended up doing 18 years in federal prison. 1118 00:54:24,460 --> 00:54:27,418 [indistinct shouting] 1119 00:54:33,961 --> 00:54:37,002 Danny Hersl and I have a whole lot of parallels. 1120 00:54:37,085 --> 00:54:38,669 We both lost family members. 1121 00:54:38,752 --> 00:54:40,710 We went to some of the same schools. 1122 00:54:40,794 --> 00:54:43,002 Some of his friends who I got to talk 1123 00:54:43,085 --> 00:54:44,418 said that he was a loyal guy. 1124 00:54:44,502 --> 00:54:47,377 He was a person that was down to do whatever for his friends. 1125 00:54:52,126 --> 00:54:54,502 I didn't sign up for something easy. 1126 00:54:54,585 --> 00:54:58,002 Talking about race and trying to see humanity in a person 1127 00:54:58,085 --> 00:55:00,752 that has been a devil to you and a devil 1128 00:55:00,835 --> 00:55:03,585 to a whole lot of people you know isn't an easy task. 1129 00:55:03,669 --> 00:55:05,502 - Hey, you the author, right? - Yeah, what's up? 1130 00:55:05,585 --> 00:55:07,460 - You came to my school. - What school you go to? 1131 00:55:07,543 --> 00:55:09,085 - I go to City. I like your book, man. 1132 00:55:09,168 --> 00:55:12,418 - Thank you, I appreciate it. 1133 00:55:12,502 --> 00:55:15,418 Hersl and I are both victims of the drug war. 1134 00:55:15,502 --> 00:55:18,210 He was on one side. I was on the other side. 1135 00:55:18,293 --> 00:55:19,919 Did he have a chance to know right from wrong? 1136 00:55:20,002 --> 00:55:21,710 Yeah, he did. But he chose wrong. 1137 00:55:21,794 --> 00:55:23,418 Did I have chances to know right from wrong? 1138 00:55:23,502 --> 00:55:25,961 Yes, I did, and I chose wrong 1139 00:55:26,043 --> 00:55:29,043 until I felt like it was time for me to choose right. 1140 00:55:29,126 --> 00:55:32,210 It's just like musical chairs. I chose before I fell. 1141 00:55:32,293 --> 00:55:34,919 I take personal responsibility for my actions, 1142 00:55:35,002 --> 00:55:37,543 just like I think he should take personal responsibilities 1143 00:55:37,627 --> 00:55:38,961 for his actions. 1144 00:55:39,043 --> 00:55:41,961 But the one thing that me and that clown have in common 1145 00:55:42,043 --> 00:55:44,460 is that we both did what we saw. 1146 00:55:44,543 --> 00:55:46,543 That's what we saw, that's what we saw people doing around us, 1147 00:55:46,627 --> 00:55:48,126 so that's what we tried to do. 1148 00:55:50,835 --> 00:55:53,377 - The eighth largest police department in the country 1149 00:55:53,460 --> 00:55:54,460 in turmoil tonight. 1150 00:55:54,543 --> 00:55:56,585 - Darryl De Sousa is done. 1151 00:55:56,669 --> 00:55:59,585 The commissioner of just four months resigned this morning 1152 00:55:59,669 --> 00:56:02,252 as he battles federal charges of willfully 1153 00:56:02,335 --> 00:56:04,961 not filing his taxes for three years. 1154 00:56:05,043 --> 00:56:07,460 - I tell you, when De Sousa was made chief, 1155 00:56:07,543 --> 00:56:11,043 I got a list of questions from the press 1156 00:56:11,126 --> 00:56:12,961 that involved his vetting, 1157 00:56:13,043 --> 00:56:15,710 and I remember calling City Hall and saying, 1158 00:56:15,794 --> 00:56:17,627 "Hey, we have answers to these?" 1159 00:56:17,710 --> 00:56:20,502 I mean, some of them were so basic. 1160 00:56:20,585 --> 00:56:23,669 It seemed to be an emotional selection 1161 00:56:23,752 --> 00:56:25,794 without due diligence. 1162 00:56:25,877 --> 00:56:28,335 All of this could have been avoided. 1163 00:56:30,210 --> 00:56:33,043 - The truth is that the mayor of Baltimore controls 1164 00:56:33,126 --> 00:56:36,877 the Baltimore Police Department to a large extent. 1165 00:56:36,961 --> 00:56:40,168 Everything goes back to the political leadership, 1166 00:56:40,252 --> 00:56:42,002 the political "misleadership" class 1167 00:56:42,085 --> 00:56:45,210 that seems to always be in office. 1168 00:56:45,293 --> 00:56:47,252 People have been interested 1169 00:56:47,335 --> 00:56:49,794 more in currying favor with power 1170 00:56:49,877 --> 00:56:51,961 than they have with elevating the people 1171 00:56:52,043 --> 00:56:54,252 that needed their support. 1172 00:56:54,335 --> 00:56:59,502 The fact that this city has basically bled dry 1173 00:56:59,585 --> 00:57:02,710 entire communities for decades, 1174 00:57:02,794 --> 00:57:04,919 giving people nothing, 1175 00:57:05,002 --> 00:57:08,252 inadequate education, not even a trash pickup. 1176 00:57:08,335 --> 00:57:11,877 There's no economic engine in many communities 1177 00:57:11,961 --> 00:57:15,002 intentionally for a long time other than the drug trade. 1178 00:57:15,085 --> 00:57:17,543 That isn't the fault of the people. 1179 00:57:17,627 --> 00:57:19,877 That's the political establishment 1180 00:57:19,961 --> 00:57:22,210 creating that environment. 1181 00:57:27,961 --> 00:57:29,669 - We're awaiting the final report 1182 00:57:29,752 --> 00:57:32,377 from the independent review board. 1183 00:57:32,460 --> 00:57:35,210 I'm sure everybody in town is going to be trying to get it 1184 00:57:35,293 --> 00:57:38,335 before it comes out, myself included, 1185 00:57:38,418 --> 00:57:41,252 but we're just waiting. 1186 00:57:44,126 --> 00:57:47,043 [rising music] 1187 00:57:47,126 --> 00:57:54,085 ♪ ♪ 1188 00:58:00,460 --> 00:58:03,627 - Come on, man! Killed himself? 1189 00:58:03,710 --> 00:58:06,210 Get the hell out of here. That's bullshit. 1190 00:58:16,252 --> 00:58:19,252 - The safest thing for Baltimore is to say, 1191 00:58:19,335 --> 00:58:22,585 "Police officers would never kill another cop, never. 1192 00:58:22,669 --> 00:58:24,585 "They would never kill another cop. 1193 00:58:24,669 --> 00:58:27,502 They'll never do that. Suiter killed himself." 1194 00:58:27,585 --> 00:58:29,252 And that maintains the narrative 1195 00:58:29,335 --> 00:58:31,293 that I'm working so hard to dismantle. 1196 00:58:32,710 --> 00:58:34,752 - And what we now learn, 1197 00:58:34,835 --> 00:58:36,502 he wasn't just going to testify as a witness. 1198 00:58:36,585 --> 00:58:38,961 He was testifying under limited immunity, 1199 00:58:39,043 --> 00:58:42,502 which is a very different kind of witness. 1200 00:58:46,752 --> 00:58:49,460 He wasn't so-called "target" 1201 00:58:49,543 --> 00:58:54,377 of the GTF investigation, but he was a "subject" of it. 1202 00:58:54,460 --> 00:58:57,043 It means that the feds didn't really know 1203 00:58:57,126 --> 00:59:00,252 what he knew or did. 1204 00:59:00,335 --> 00:59:02,293 - They released it the night 1205 00:59:02,377 --> 00:59:04,293 before they had a press conference. 1206 00:59:04,377 --> 00:59:08,126 And along with it, they released a piece of video 1207 00:59:08,210 --> 00:59:11,002 that I had been trying to get my hands on forever. 1208 00:59:18,877 --> 00:59:21,002 They released an audio clip 1209 00:59:21,085 --> 00:59:24,502 of Sean's last audio transmission. 1210 00:59:24,585 --> 00:59:26,168 - [shouting indistinctly] 1211 00:59:26,252 --> 00:59:27,752 - Which was unintelligible, 1212 00:59:27,835 --> 00:59:30,752 but there's still some sound there, you know, and... 1213 00:59:30,835 --> 00:59:32,126 - [shouting indistinctly] 1214 00:59:32,210 --> 00:59:34,293 - That was interesting to me. 1215 00:59:34,377 --> 00:59:35,919 And then I read the report. 1216 00:59:36,002 --> 00:59:38,335 And, you know, it was rumored 1217 00:59:38,418 --> 00:59:40,252 that it was going to come out as suicide, 1218 00:59:40,335 --> 00:59:41,794 and then you read it in black and white 1219 00:59:41,877 --> 00:59:43,710 where the IRB board said, 1220 00:59:43,794 --> 00:59:45,627 "We conclude that this is suicide." 1221 00:59:58,835 --> 01:00:00,710 And I looked at that, and I was like, 1222 01:00:00,794 --> 01:00:04,710 "Okay, now show me-- show me where it's at." 1223 01:00:04,794 --> 01:00:09,002 And so I read that report three times that night. 1224 01:00:09,085 --> 01:00:12,043 I didn't see anything new-- 1225 01:00:12,126 --> 01:00:14,502 no new physical evidence, 1226 01:00:14,585 --> 01:00:19,002 nothing to suggest that they can conclude unanimously 1227 01:00:19,085 --> 01:00:21,502 that Sean Suiter killed himself. 1228 01:00:21,585 --> 01:00:24,335 It wasn't there for me as a reporter. 1229 01:00:25,752 --> 01:00:28,627 - Uh-huh, okay. Thank you very much. 1230 01:00:28,710 --> 01:00:30,293 I'll call you if there's anything-- 1231 01:00:30,377 --> 01:00:34,794 I reached out to former commissioner Kevin Davis. 1232 01:00:34,877 --> 01:00:38,752 I don't know, in any other town, this might be shocking, 1233 01:00:38,835 --> 01:00:41,710 but he completely condemned the police department, 1234 01:00:41,794 --> 01:00:44,418 and he said that there is a culture there that, 1235 01:00:44,502 --> 01:00:46,377 you know, they were culturally trying to, 1236 01:00:46,460 --> 01:00:48,460 you know, cover this up because they couldn't handle 1237 01:00:48,543 --> 01:00:50,585 not being able to solve the case. 1238 01:00:50,669 --> 01:00:55,252 He also said that he refused to meet with the full board 1239 01:00:55,335 --> 01:00:59,002 because he didn't trust members of the police department 1240 01:00:59,085 --> 01:01:00,585 who were on the board. 1241 01:01:00,669 --> 01:01:02,377 That's a pretty shocking statement 1242 01:01:02,460 --> 01:01:05,377 from somebody who ran the place for three years. 1243 01:01:05,460 --> 01:01:08,210 He is an outsider, and he ran the place for three years, 1244 01:01:08,293 --> 01:01:09,877 and he's basically telling the public 1245 01:01:09,961 --> 01:01:11,627 you can't trust anybody over there, 1246 01:01:11,710 --> 01:01:14,669 and they are going to sort of juke this case 1247 01:01:14,752 --> 01:01:16,168 to what they want it to be. 1248 01:01:16,252 --> 01:01:18,168 That's coming from someone who ran the place 1249 01:01:18,252 --> 01:01:20,627 and saw it from the inside out. 1250 01:01:20,710 --> 01:01:24,794 [gentle music] 1251 01:01:24,877 --> 01:01:26,627 - Questions? 1252 01:01:26,710 --> 01:01:30,252 - Mayor, do you accept the finding of self-inflicted? 1253 01:01:30,335 --> 01:01:32,460 - Well, let me just say this-- you know, first of all, 1254 01:01:32,543 --> 01:01:36,293 you know, my condolences are still with the family. 1255 01:01:36,377 --> 01:01:38,460 I'm also looking forward to hearing 1256 01:01:38,543 --> 01:01:40,710 from the review committee as well, you know, 1257 01:01:40,794 --> 01:01:43,460 because I think there needs to be a thorough understanding 1258 01:01:43,543 --> 01:01:45,252 of their own findings. 1259 01:01:45,335 --> 01:01:47,919 - There's no question that the Independent Review Board 1260 01:01:48,002 --> 01:01:49,460 that reviewed the evidence in the case 1261 01:01:49,543 --> 01:01:53,585 and the facts of the case has placed a lot of weight 1262 01:01:53,669 --> 01:01:56,335 on the connection to the Gun Trace Task Force case 1263 01:01:56,418 --> 01:01:58,002 to the death of Sean Suiter. 1264 01:01:58,085 --> 01:02:00,335 - The commissioner says, "Okay, there was a man 1265 01:02:00,418 --> 01:02:02,168 in a black leather jacket." 1266 01:02:02,252 --> 01:02:04,002 - Right, and that is what the report says. 1267 01:02:04,085 --> 01:02:06,543 And the report reveals that there were some inaccuracies. 1268 01:02:06,627 --> 01:02:08,210 - Knowing what you know now, do you regret 1269 01:02:08,293 --> 01:02:11,794 the hero's funeral with public road closings 1270 01:02:11,877 --> 01:02:14,126 and a vast PR campaign surrounding it? 1271 01:02:14,210 --> 01:02:15,961 - Well, I didn't orchestrate that, 1272 01:02:16,043 --> 01:02:19,126 so let me just say that, again, these are findings 1273 01:02:19,210 --> 01:02:21,460 that are still being reviewed and will be shared. 1274 01:02:21,543 --> 01:02:24,752 - So you don't feel at any point that you were misled 1275 01:02:24,835 --> 01:02:26,627 by anyone on the police department? 1276 01:02:26,710 --> 01:02:29,335 - I think we all-- well, according to this report, 1277 01:02:29,418 --> 01:02:31,794 we've all been misled. 1278 01:02:31,877 --> 01:02:37,502 - To hear someone totally drag your homeboy, man... 1279 01:02:37,585 --> 01:02:39,710 Like, he just-- 1280 01:02:39,794 --> 01:02:42,043 That's not him. 1281 01:02:46,418 --> 01:02:50,961 Like, to hear that from people that didn't know him... 1282 01:02:52,961 --> 01:02:54,919 It was--it was-- it was jacked up. 1283 01:02:55,002 --> 01:02:56,502 It was a jacked-up day. 1284 01:03:01,877 --> 01:03:03,377 - The physical evidence definitely takes you 1285 01:03:03,460 --> 01:03:06,252 to a self-inflicted conclusion. 1286 01:03:07,794 --> 01:03:11,002 But when you really think about the case, 1287 01:03:11,085 --> 01:03:13,669 either you've got Sean Suiter 1288 01:03:13,752 --> 01:03:17,585 who needs to make his suicide look like murder, 1289 01:03:17,669 --> 01:03:20,961 and if he is targeted because of what he may know 1290 01:03:21,043 --> 01:03:24,252 about other activities of other officers, 1291 01:03:24,335 --> 01:03:27,002 you've got someone who needs to make his murder 1292 01:03:27,085 --> 01:03:30,043 look like suicide. 1293 01:03:30,126 --> 01:03:32,377 - There wasn't ever supposed to be a conclusion 1294 01:03:32,460 --> 01:03:34,919 drawn from the IRB. 1295 01:03:35,002 --> 01:03:37,002 I was shocked when I found out 1296 01:03:37,085 --> 01:03:39,502 that there was an actual conclusion. 1297 01:03:48,961 --> 01:03:52,210 [car horn honks] 1298 01:03:52,293 --> 01:03:55,669 - Can you address people who may be looking at this 1299 01:03:55,752 --> 01:03:58,293 saying this is a really far-fetched scenario? 1300 01:03:58,377 --> 01:04:01,126 - The totality of the evidence, not individually, 1301 01:04:01,210 --> 01:04:02,752 but the totality of the evidence 1302 01:04:02,835 --> 01:04:04,627 builds a compelling case 1303 01:04:04,710 --> 01:04:07,043 that the conclusion is very well supported, 1304 01:04:07,126 --> 01:04:11,669 and there is unanimity on all recommendations, 1305 01:04:11,752 --> 01:04:15,002 all findings, all conclusions that were made in the report. 1306 01:04:15,085 --> 01:04:17,543 - To what extent did your investigators 1307 01:04:17,627 --> 01:04:21,085 look at the theory that many in the community 1308 01:04:21,168 --> 01:04:24,418 are saying this was a hit put on Suiter by the BPD? 1309 01:04:24,502 --> 01:04:26,418 - I refer you to the report. 1310 01:04:26,502 --> 01:04:29,752 It turns out that we were able to exactly time 1311 01:04:29,835 --> 01:04:32,085 sort of the sequence of events 1312 01:04:32,168 --> 01:04:33,877 and there was a total of eight seconds 1313 01:04:33,961 --> 01:04:35,710 when somebody wasn't being observed, 1314 01:04:35,794 --> 01:04:38,002 and you couldn't get in, do that, 1315 01:04:38,085 --> 01:04:40,460 put the evidence in, raise the arm up, 1316 01:04:40,543 --> 01:04:43,377 close the arm-- it was not possible. 1317 01:04:43,460 --> 01:04:45,835 - I just want to clear up a factual matter. 1318 01:04:45,919 --> 01:04:49,669 It says that Hersl had pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate. 1319 01:04:49,752 --> 01:04:52,126 But he was one of the two who didn't plead guilty. 1320 01:04:52,210 --> 01:04:53,710 Was there a mistake? 1321 01:04:53,794 --> 01:04:55,502 - No, I believe it's the same Hersl. 1322 01:04:55,585 --> 01:04:57,585 - This is a big mistake. 1323 01:04:57,669 --> 01:04:59,502 This is a fairly large public trial 1324 01:04:59,585 --> 01:05:02,293 that we all covered, that he went to trial, 1325 01:05:02,377 --> 01:05:04,126 and it went on for weeks, 1326 01:05:04,210 --> 01:05:06,961 but it says in here that he pled guilty. 1327 01:05:07,043 --> 01:05:10,168 But beyond that, did you guys also interview other people 1328 01:05:10,252 --> 01:05:14,961 in his family or in his life to help state of mind 1329 01:05:15,043 --> 01:05:17,835 that this grand jury may not have been the only thing 1330 01:05:17,919 --> 01:05:21,669 that was stressing him out to make him commit suicide? 1331 01:05:21,752 --> 01:05:23,835 - Let me just say this, you know, 1332 01:05:23,919 --> 01:05:27,043 we followed the information, and we followed the facts. 1333 01:05:27,126 --> 01:05:30,252 We do not attempt to understand what his state of mind was 1334 01:05:30,335 --> 01:05:32,543 when he took the actions that he did. 1335 01:05:32,627 --> 01:05:35,502 We can't surmise that about Detective Suiter. 1336 01:05:35,585 --> 01:05:36,877 We can't. 1337 01:05:36,961 --> 01:05:40,710 - I didn't know about the factual error 1338 01:05:40,794 --> 01:05:44,835 that was in the IRB report, a big one. 1339 01:05:46,293 --> 01:05:50,919 I don't like embarrassment. I don't like being wrong. 1340 01:05:51,002 --> 01:05:54,460 This shit should be right, period! 1341 01:05:54,543 --> 01:05:57,502 This is not just a report. 1342 01:05:57,585 --> 01:06:00,168 This is somebody's life. 1343 01:06:00,252 --> 01:06:02,835 We're about to tell someone's family 1344 01:06:02,919 --> 01:06:05,835 that we don't believe your husband was killed. 1345 01:06:05,919 --> 01:06:08,752 We believe he did it himself. Oh, sorry for this fact. 1346 01:06:08,835 --> 01:06:13,585 No, no, no, it's no margin for error for that. 1347 01:06:13,669 --> 01:06:16,252 - Based on the fact that no one knew my husband 1348 01:06:16,335 --> 01:06:17,627 better than I did, 1349 01:06:17,710 --> 01:06:19,752 I will not accept the untimely death of Sean 1350 01:06:19,835 --> 01:06:22,919 as nothing other than a murder... 1351 01:06:23,002 --> 01:06:24,252 which has been covered up 1352 01:06:24,335 --> 01:06:28,543 for reasons unbeknownst to me or my family. 1353 01:06:28,627 --> 01:06:31,085 Sean did not deserve to die in this manner, 1354 01:06:31,168 --> 01:06:33,919 and no one deserves to get away with this. 1355 01:06:34,002 --> 01:06:36,585 - Nicole knew that there were wolves. 1356 01:06:36,669 --> 01:06:39,752 I saw an effort by certain individuals 1357 01:06:39,835 --> 01:06:42,377 within the Baltimore City Police Department 1358 01:06:42,460 --> 01:06:44,543 to demonize Sean, 1359 01:06:44,627 --> 01:06:48,460 to turn him into another one of these shadowy GTTF figures. 1360 01:06:50,377 --> 01:06:52,293 What does the Baltimore City Police Department 1361 01:06:52,377 --> 01:06:54,585 have to gain by lying about Sean? 1362 01:06:54,669 --> 01:06:56,293 - What do you think is going on here? 1363 01:06:56,377 --> 01:06:58,126 Why do you think this is happening? 1364 01:06:58,210 --> 01:07:02,919 - To be honest, I don't know why this is happening. 1365 01:07:03,002 --> 01:07:05,543 But something's happening. 1366 01:07:10,335 --> 01:07:12,460 - There is nothing to indicate to me 1367 01:07:12,543 --> 01:07:15,126 that he took his own life. 1368 01:07:15,210 --> 01:07:17,627 I am the one who reached out to the U.S. Attorney's Office 1369 01:07:17,710 --> 01:07:20,377 and requested immunity. 1370 01:07:20,460 --> 01:07:23,961 He was not worried about his involvement in this case. 1371 01:07:24,043 --> 01:07:26,502 The U.S. Attorneys handling the investigation 1372 01:07:26,585 --> 01:07:28,502 made it clear to me that they saw Sean 1373 01:07:28,585 --> 01:07:31,293 as a witness to the Umar Burley case, 1374 01:07:31,377 --> 01:07:33,002 not a suspect. 1375 01:07:34,794 --> 01:07:37,335 Now I'm trying to make sure that two things happen-- 1376 01:07:37,418 --> 01:07:40,835 that his family gets benefits and that somebody 1377 01:07:40,919 --> 01:07:42,794 actually investigates his fucking murder, 1378 01:07:42,877 --> 01:07:46,835 which I really don't think are two big things to ask. 1379 01:07:46,919 --> 01:07:50,460 [siren wails] 1380 01:07:50,543 --> 01:07:52,919 - The intricate plan on staging this 1381 01:07:53,002 --> 01:07:56,293 for insurance purposes just bothers me the most. 1382 01:07:56,377 --> 01:07:58,627 As Black families, we just go through shit. 1383 01:07:58,710 --> 01:07:59,961 We go through shit. 1384 01:08:00,043 --> 01:08:01,418 We go through shit, and then we go through shit 1385 01:08:01,502 --> 01:08:02,835 while we're getting through other shit 1386 01:08:02,919 --> 01:08:04,627 that we're going through-- that's not strange. 1387 01:08:04,710 --> 01:08:06,335 He wasn't some corporate guy on Wall Street 1388 01:08:06,418 --> 01:08:07,502 running a foundation. 1389 01:08:07,585 --> 01:08:09,377 He was a fucking cop. He's in the street. 1390 01:08:09,460 --> 01:08:11,752 He's seen pain. He's been through shit. 1391 01:08:11,835 --> 01:08:14,002 So to tell me that he can't stomach doing a little three, 1392 01:08:14,085 --> 01:08:16,335 four years in the joint, come on, man. 1393 01:08:21,794 --> 01:08:26,335 - Your partner is close by in daylight... 1394 01:08:26,418 --> 01:08:28,585 in a fairly populated part of town, 1395 01:08:28,669 --> 01:08:32,502 and you are going to contort yourself 1396 01:08:32,585 --> 01:08:37,002 in a way that makes it look like someone killed you, 1397 01:08:37,085 --> 01:08:39,002 but you're killing yourself. 1398 01:08:39,085 --> 01:08:40,460 You're going to fire three shots, 1399 01:08:40,543 --> 01:08:41,752 two of them randomly 1400 01:08:41,835 --> 01:08:44,418 and then the third into the back of your head. 1401 01:08:44,502 --> 01:08:46,126 If you wanted to kill yourself on the job 1402 01:08:46,210 --> 01:08:48,794 specifically to get the benefits to your family, 1403 01:08:48,877 --> 01:08:51,126 there are a million other easier ways to do this 1404 01:08:51,210 --> 01:08:55,126 than to concoct this incredible scene here. 1405 01:08:57,002 --> 01:08:59,085 What's at stake here is Nicole Suiter 1406 01:08:59,168 --> 01:09:02,377 and her family and this man's legacy. 1407 01:09:02,460 --> 01:09:04,794 What's at stake here is maybe their benefits, 1408 01:09:04,877 --> 01:09:07,335 which could total a half a million dollars. 1409 01:09:07,418 --> 01:09:11,043 What's at stake here is how this man is remembered. 1410 01:09:15,126 --> 01:09:18,502 - It just don't make sense. He had no reason. 1411 01:09:21,002 --> 01:09:23,877 He wasn't involved in anything. 1412 01:09:23,961 --> 01:09:27,418 Tell me he was involved in something. 1413 01:09:30,002 --> 01:09:32,126 The only thing Sean probably guilty of 1414 01:09:32,210 --> 01:09:34,293 is knowing that his partners was dirty 1415 01:09:34,377 --> 01:09:36,961 and didn't turn 'em in. 1416 01:09:37,043 --> 01:09:38,293 If he's guilty of anything, 1417 01:09:38,377 --> 01:09:40,502 that's the only thing he's guilty of. 1418 01:09:46,043 --> 01:09:48,752 I'm not angry at the police department. 1419 01:09:48,835 --> 01:09:51,460 I just want justice for my husband. 1420 01:09:53,794 --> 01:09:55,418 I don't think I'll be able to get that 1421 01:09:55,502 --> 01:09:57,585 with a lot of anger in my heart. 1422 01:10:09,002 --> 01:10:11,794 - People are still, still working the case. 1423 01:10:15,210 --> 01:10:17,210 Like I said, I stay away from it 1424 01:10:17,293 --> 01:10:19,877 because of how close I am. 1425 01:10:19,961 --> 01:10:21,543 What's up, player? 1426 01:10:25,252 --> 01:10:27,877 I was good this morning, you know? 1427 01:10:27,961 --> 01:10:32,126 Just interesting because this case right here 1428 01:10:32,210 --> 01:10:33,919 that I'm on out here for 1429 01:10:34,002 --> 01:10:38,293 is a case we were working on together, you know? 1430 01:10:38,377 --> 01:10:41,460 Damn, I wasn't trying even to-- 1431 01:10:41,543 --> 01:10:44,460 Come on, man. [chuckles] 1432 01:10:44,543 --> 01:10:46,335 All right, champ, get me together. 1433 01:10:46,418 --> 01:10:47,794 Let's get this going. 1434 01:10:47,877 --> 01:10:49,585 All right. [sniffles] Sorry about that. 1435 01:10:49,669 --> 01:10:52,669 All right, so, yeah... 1436 01:10:52,752 --> 01:10:54,502 it's kind of rough. 1437 01:10:57,168 --> 01:11:00,085 [uneasy music] 1438 01:11:00,168 --> 01:11:07,168 ♪ ♪ 1439 01:11:11,126 --> 01:11:14,210 - I want to go where he was killed, 1440 01:11:14,293 --> 01:11:17,585 so the community down there can remember Sean. 1441 01:11:19,293 --> 01:11:21,293 I want it to resurface 1442 01:11:21,377 --> 01:11:23,961 so his killing don't go in vain. 1443 01:11:25,418 --> 01:11:29,002 - In a quarter mile, make a right turn. 1444 01:11:29,085 --> 01:11:32,168 [sirens wail] 1445 01:11:32,252 --> 01:11:37,460 ♪ ♪ 1446 01:11:37,543 --> 01:11:40,502 - Waking up this morning was kind of hard. 1447 01:11:40,585 --> 01:11:43,835 Getting myself together was kind of hard. 1448 01:11:43,919 --> 01:11:47,460 Just reopening wounds all over again. 1449 01:11:47,543 --> 01:11:50,293 Doesn't seem like it's been a year, though. 1450 01:11:57,168 --> 01:12:01,043 - That day, we were going to go out together. 1451 01:12:01,126 --> 01:12:04,543 I didn't know that he was set to testify at the grand jury 1452 01:12:04,627 --> 01:12:07,377 in this GTTF shit, and some people were like, 1453 01:12:07,460 --> 01:12:10,669 "Well, you're his partner. Why wouldn't he tell you?" 1454 01:12:10,752 --> 01:12:14,210 That's something that he had to deal with. 1455 01:12:14,293 --> 01:12:16,377 I didn't know about it. 1456 01:12:16,460 --> 01:12:18,210 I didn't know. 1457 01:12:21,168 --> 01:12:24,460 - My husband was never a coward to commit suicide. 1458 01:12:24,543 --> 01:12:26,252 Let's just say that Sean, 1459 01:12:26,335 --> 01:12:28,002 if he was involved in something, 1460 01:12:28,085 --> 01:12:31,835 which he wasn't, he's going to take his punishment like a man. 1461 01:12:52,752 --> 01:12:55,126 - Being there that day at the vigil, 1462 01:12:55,210 --> 01:12:58,961 it was a strange feeling because it was no feeling. 1463 01:12:59,043 --> 01:13:01,502 It hurt for so long that it just-- 1464 01:13:01,585 --> 01:13:03,919 the pain couldn't be any more. 1465 01:13:04,002 --> 01:13:05,002 - Sean is all right. 1466 01:13:05,085 --> 01:13:09,168 Sean has made that journey that we all have to make. 1467 01:13:09,252 --> 01:13:12,210 - [sobbing] 1468 01:13:26,085 --> 01:13:28,460 - Brian unveils new information tonight 1469 01:13:28,543 --> 01:13:31,126 that Suiter's attorneys say further discredits 1470 01:13:31,210 --> 01:13:32,502 the suicide theory. 1471 01:13:32,585 --> 01:13:34,418 - This is Sean Suiter. 1472 01:13:34,502 --> 01:13:37,752 Taken just days before a review board says 1473 01:13:37,835 --> 01:13:39,418 he killed himself. 1474 01:13:39,502 --> 01:13:42,835 The last intimate moment Nicole and her husband shared. 1475 01:13:42,919 --> 01:13:45,377 She texted this video to him an hour 1476 01:13:45,460 --> 01:13:48,585 before he was shot on November 15th last year. 1477 01:13:48,669 --> 01:13:50,543 He called, they laughed, 1478 01:13:50,627 --> 01:13:52,543 he said he would stay up for her 1479 01:13:52,627 --> 01:13:55,043 when she got home from her night shift. 1480 01:13:55,126 --> 01:13:59,710 The main theory of this independent review board 1481 01:13:59,794 --> 01:14:03,002 is that the day Sean killed himself, 1482 01:14:03,085 --> 01:14:06,168 he chose a junior homicide detective. 1483 01:14:06,252 --> 01:14:08,835 I guess the implication is that he wouldn't know 1484 01:14:08,919 --> 01:14:11,502 what Sean was doing. 1485 01:14:12,919 --> 01:14:14,710 That was their theory. 1486 01:14:16,335 --> 01:14:18,252 - Did it sound like they were coming from up? 1487 01:14:18,335 --> 01:14:20,168 - It sounded like it came just from the alley. 1488 01:14:20,252 --> 01:14:21,877 That corner-- it's all T'd off. 1489 01:14:21,961 --> 01:14:24,961 It was vibrating back and forth. 1490 01:14:25,043 --> 01:14:27,752 I didn't see the shooter. I didn't hear any cars. 1491 01:14:27,835 --> 01:14:29,252 I didn't see any cars speed off. 1492 01:14:29,335 --> 01:14:31,377 I didn't see anybody run. 1493 01:14:31,460 --> 01:14:34,043 - I come to find out that it wasn't 1494 01:14:34,126 --> 01:14:36,002 Sean's case that they were on the street for. 1495 01:14:36,085 --> 01:14:38,252 It was that junior detective's case, 1496 01:14:38,335 --> 01:14:41,085 and there's paperwork to that effect. 1497 01:14:41,168 --> 01:14:43,043 In fact, it was David Bomenka 1498 01:14:43,126 --> 01:14:45,877 who had the more active case on that block. 1499 01:14:45,961 --> 01:14:47,919 It partly relied on the witness testimony 1500 01:14:48,002 --> 01:14:50,543 of a woman in the 900 block of Bennett Place. 1501 01:14:50,627 --> 01:14:53,210 The documents show she was located on the morning 1502 01:14:53,293 --> 01:14:55,794 Suiter was shot but refused to cooperate 1503 01:14:55,877 --> 01:14:57,877 with the homicide operations team 1504 01:14:57,961 --> 01:15:00,043 dispatched to bring her in. 1505 01:15:00,126 --> 01:15:02,418 Sources close to the investigation say 1506 01:15:02,502 --> 01:15:05,710 Detective Bomenka was then ordered to return to the block 1507 01:15:05,794 --> 01:15:08,502 later that day and convince the witness himself 1508 01:15:08,585 --> 01:15:10,961 and that Sean Suiter was simply 1509 01:15:11,043 --> 01:15:14,460 the only other detective available to go with him. 1510 01:15:14,543 --> 01:15:15,961 - "Take Suiter with you," 1511 01:15:16,043 --> 01:15:18,293 because Sean was the only guy on the floor. 1512 01:15:18,377 --> 01:15:20,002 That's what sources have told me, 1513 01:15:20,085 --> 01:15:22,335 and I've confirmed that three or four different times, 1514 01:15:22,418 --> 01:15:24,168 which questions the IRB's conclusion 1515 01:15:24,252 --> 01:15:26,794 that Suiter pushed to go out there that day 1516 01:15:26,877 --> 01:15:30,002 and work with a rookie cop in order to kill himself. 1517 01:15:32,377 --> 01:15:35,502 [keys clacking] 1518 01:15:37,961 --> 01:15:40,919 - It's a big sticking point for Suiter's supporters 1519 01:15:41,002 --> 01:15:44,043 that, you know, the IRB got it wrong. 1520 01:15:44,126 --> 01:15:46,460 It discredits the IRB's work in that regard. 1521 01:15:46,543 --> 01:15:49,919 I don't know that the whole theory disintegrates. 1522 01:15:52,418 --> 01:15:54,752 - In concluding Sean Suiter took his own life, 1523 01:15:54,835 --> 01:15:58,126 an independent review board cited the lack of evidence 1524 01:15:58,210 --> 01:16:01,502 of a second person through DNA testing or fingerprints. 1525 01:16:01,585 --> 01:16:04,002 Now we've learned there is DNA evidence 1526 01:16:04,085 --> 01:16:06,669 that could suggest a second person. 1527 01:16:06,752 --> 01:16:08,335 It was found on Suiter's gun, 1528 01:16:08,418 --> 01:16:10,961 according to a source familiar with the investigation, 1529 01:16:11,043 --> 01:16:13,460 and does not belong to Suiter. 1530 01:16:13,543 --> 01:16:15,335 But it is not traceable. 1531 01:16:15,418 --> 01:16:18,460 It has not been linked to a specific person. 1532 01:16:18,543 --> 01:16:20,460 - All of these different reporters, you know, 1533 01:16:20,543 --> 01:16:22,126 "Suiter's DNA is here and there. 1534 01:16:22,210 --> 01:16:24,168 There's another DNA. There's no DNA." 1535 01:16:24,252 --> 01:16:25,794 There's no, you know, whatever. 1536 01:16:25,877 --> 01:16:27,961 And all of the information coming from the police 1537 01:16:28,085 --> 01:16:29,585 makes perfect sense 1538 01:16:29,669 --> 01:16:32,710 if your department's not full of liars. 1539 01:16:38,043 --> 01:16:40,418 - Hey, is there anything going down 1540 01:16:40,502 --> 01:16:42,502 that I should know about? 1541 01:16:42,585 --> 01:16:44,252 Yeah. Yes, really? 1542 01:16:44,335 --> 01:16:47,627 Okay, can you fill me in so I'm not behind the 8 ball? 1543 01:16:48,961 --> 01:16:51,877 Fuck, I had no idea how to confirm that. 1544 01:16:51,961 --> 01:16:54,210 Hmm. 1545 01:16:54,293 --> 01:16:56,835 [sighs] 1546 01:16:56,919 --> 01:16:59,252 There's going to be a big report tonight. 1547 01:16:59,335 --> 01:17:00,835 Before you got here, 1548 01:17:00,919 --> 01:17:03,210 our former police commissioner pleading guilty, 1549 01:17:03,293 --> 01:17:05,961 and now this is going on. 1550 01:17:06,043 --> 01:17:08,502 - It remains one of the biggest open wounds 1551 01:17:08,585 --> 01:17:10,669 from last year's record-setting violent-crime rate-- 1552 01:17:10,752 --> 01:17:13,085 the death of homicide Detective Sean Suiter, 1553 01:17:13,168 --> 01:17:16,085 shrouded in mystery, a litany of unanswered questions. 1554 01:17:16,168 --> 01:17:18,627 Tonight this is at least one of the leads 1555 01:17:18,710 --> 01:17:22,252 police gathered in the weeks after his shooting. 1556 01:17:25,961 --> 01:17:27,210 This is an interview 1557 01:17:27,293 --> 01:17:30,085 inside the Baltimore Police Department's Homicide Section 1558 01:17:30,168 --> 01:17:32,835 on December 8, 2017. 1559 01:17:32,919 --> 01:17:34,877 The man being interviewed is Donte Pauling, 1560 01:17:34,961 --> 01:17:36,877 picked up on a gun possession charge 1561 01:17:36,961 --> 01:17:38,377 three weeks after the death 1562 01:17:38,460 --> 01:17:40,627 of homicide detective Sean Suiter. 1563 01:17:40,710 --> 01:17:42,752 - This is a hard-core leak. 1564 01:17:42,835 --> 01:17:44,710 - Pauling tells these officers 1565 01:17:44,794 --> 01:17:46,418 he heard what happened to Sean Suiter 1566 01:17:46,502 --> 01:17:48,543 and began detailing how he knew the guy 1567 01:17:48,627 --> 01:17:49,961 who knew how it happened. 1568 01:18:02,794 --> 01:18:04,210 This is the video released 1569 01:18:04,293 --> 01:18:06,168 by the independent review board this summer. 1570 01:18:06,252 --> 01:18:08,168 That is Suiter behind the van. 1571 01:18:08,252 --> 01:18:12,293 The IRB used this video as evidence to say he was pacing, 1572 01:18:12,377 --> 01:18:14,585 working up the courage to jump into the alley 1573 01:18:14,669 --> 01:18:15,877 and shoot himself. 1574 01:18:15,961 --> 01:18:18,418 But Pauling is now telling detectives this is 1575 01:18:18,502 --> 01:18:20,627 when Suiter decided to run into the alley 1576 01:18:20,710 --> 01:18:23,710 to confront a suspect leaning over his drug stash, 1577 01:18:23,794 --> 01:18:25,627 gun drawn in plain clothes. 1578 01:18:25,710 --> 01:18:28,043 Pauling never did get the man's name 1579 01:18:28,126 --> 01:18:29,919 who allegedly overpowered Suiter 1580 01:18:30,002 --> 01:18:32,252 and killed him with his own service weapon. 1581 01:18:32,335 --> 01:18:33,585 - We still didn't even know 1582 01:18:33,669 --> 01:18:35,168 it was an officer yet... 1583 01:18:35,252 --> 01:18:38,002 - What is unclear is what ever came of this tip. 1584 01:18:38,085 --> 01:18:40,043 It is important to note that the IRB report says 1585 01:18:40,126 --> 01:18:42,293 police ran down 54 tips 1586 01:18:42,377 --> 01:18:44,377 and that "all leads were exhausted," 1587 01:18:44,460 --> 01:18:47,168 but the report does not mention this lead specifically. 1588 01:18:47,252 --> 01:18:49,585 - All right, I got to make a phone call. 1589 01:18:49,669 --> 01:18:51,961 Tell me why this wasn't a credible tip 1590 01:18:52,043 --> 01:18:54,543 so I can offer another side of the story. 1591 01:18:54,627 --> 01:18:55,669 I'm like, you can't "no comment" this. 1592 01:18:55,752 --> 01:18:58,377 People are gonna-- people are so distrusting. 1593 01:18:58,460 --> 01:19:00,794 You've got to say something. 1594 01:19:00,877 --> 01:19:03,835 [uneasy music] 1595 01:19:03,919 --> 01:19:08,961 ♪ ♪ 1596 01:19:09,043 --> 01:19:11,293 - We have, notoriously, 1597 01:19:11,377 --> 01:19:14,627 one of the most corrupt police forces in the country. 1598 01:19:14,710 --> 01:19:18,418 There is still a great deal of denial. 1599 01:19:18,502 --> 01:19:22,043 In a culture where there is not only no duty to report, 1600 01:19:22,126 --> 01:19:24,210 no protection for whistleblowers, 1601 01:19:24,293 --> 01:19:28,418 there's actually a coercion to go along. 1602 01:19:28,502 --> 01:19:31,460 Good officers that go into the department 1603 01:19:31,543 --> 01:19:33,377 idealistically thinking, 1604 01:19:33,460 --> 01:19:34,877 "I'm going to be a good officer, 1605 01:19:34,961 --> 01:19:36,460 I'm going to serve and protect the community," 1606 01:19:36,543 --> 01:19:37,835 they go into this system, 1607 01:19:37,919 --> 01:19:41,043 and they have superiors that are part of this culture, 1608 01:19:41,126 --> 01:19:45,043 and they are pressured to conform to the culture. 1609 01:19:45,126 --> 01:19:52,126 ♪ ♪ 1610 01:20:01,835 --> 01:20:06,085 - It's very rare for any police officer in Baltimore City 1611 01:20:06,168 --> 01:20:07,710 that's in the streets to be squeaky clean. 1612 01:20:07,794 --> 01:20:09,502 Everybody got some dirt on them. 1613 01:20:09,585 --> 01:20:11,252 That's why nothing ever gets done. 1614 01:20:11,335 --> 01:20:13,585 - I'm with Detective Rayam here approaching this vehicle, 1615 01:20:13,669 --> 01:20:15,502 this Honda minivan-- 1616 01:20:15,585 --> 01:20:18,252 - Sean Suiter worked with Wayne Jenkins. 1617 01:20:18,335 --> 01:20:21,210 I know Sean Suiter had warned 1618 01:20:21,293 --> 01:20:24,543 Gondo and Rayam about working with Wayne Jenkins. 1619 01:20:24,627 --> 01:20:26,877 That means he knows Jenkins is dirty. 1620 01:20:26,961 --> 01:20:29,043 If you telling Gondo and you telling Rayam, 1621 01:20:29,126 --> 01:20:30,377 "Yo, look out for Jenkins. 1622 01:20:30,460 --> 01:20:32,669 Watch him. He up to something," right? 1623 01:20:32,752 --> 01:20:35,002 But you don't really say nothing to the powers that be, 1624 01:20:35,085 --> 01:20:37,210 then you a part of the problem, straight up. 1625 01:20:40,543 --> 01:20:42,669 One of the questions that I get hit with a lot 1626 01:20:42,752 --> 01:20:46,126 is the amount of Black police officers we have 1627 01:20:46,210 --> 01:20:48,168 and the amount of Black politicians. 1628 01:20:48,252 --> 01:20:51,543 The problem is the system is racist. 1629 01:20:51,627 --> 01:20:53,460 The people are pawns. 1630 01:20:56,877 --> 01:20:58,627 We knew this for years. 1631 01:20:58,710 --> 01:21:00,794 You know, even when, like, some other publications 1632 01:21:00,877 --> 01:21:02,585 write about them, 1633 01:21:02,669 --> 01:21:05,126 they still think that it's maybe, like, a handful, 1634 01:21:05,210 --> 01:21:07,126 but it's more than a handful, it's large groups, 1635 01:21:07,210 --> 01:21:11,002 because it's a tradition in America for police officers 1636 01:21:11,085 --> 01:21:13,919 to treat Black people a certain kind of way-- 1637 01:21:14,002 --> 01:21:16,710 devilish, evil, steal, oppress, 1638 01:21:16,794 --> 01:21:19,585 anger, aggression, bullshit. 1639 01:21:19,669 --> 01:21:22,043 It's what they do, so, like, we know this. 1640 01:21:22,126 --> 01:21:24,835 So we know it's not over yet. 1641 01:21:35,085 --> 01:21:37,335 - I never intended to do anything 1642 01:21:37,418 --> 01:21:40,835 that could not stand up to scrutiny. 1643 01:21:47,460 --> 01:21:50,961 - Number 51 is on the books. 1644 01:21:51,043 --> 01:21:52,335 [applause] 1645 01:21:52,418 --> 01:21:54,293 Bernard C. "Jack" Young 1646 01:21:54,377 --> 01:21:56,502 was sworn in as Baltimore's next mayor 1647 01:21:56,585 --> 01:21:58,794 in front of a standing-room-only crowd 1648 01:21:58,877 --> 01:22:00,877 at the War Memorial Building... 1649 01:22:05,669 --> 01:22:08,919 - In my lifetime, nothing has ever changed. 1650 01:22:09,002 --> 01:22:11,710 Like, I've seen so many mayors come through this city. 1651 01:22:11,794 --> 01:22:14,335 I've seen so many politicians come through my neighborhood, 1652 01:22:14,418 --> 01:22:16,710 knock on my door, knock on this door 1653 01:22:16,794 --> 01:22:19,210 and talk about what they gonna do, 1654 01:22:19,293 --> 01:22:21,585 and nothing has happened. 1655 01:22:21,669 --> 01:22:23,710 Everybody wants change, right? 1656 01:22:23,794 --> 01:22:27,168 When we talking about change, it's a slow hustle. 1657 01:22:27,252 --> 01:22:29,794 It takes a long time. 1658 01:22:29,877 --> 01:22:32,002 It means all of the work and the time it takes 1659 01:22:32,085 --> 01:22:35,168 for you to move the ball forward just an inch. 1660 01:22:37,627 --> 01:22:39,043 - In the news tonight, 1661 01:22:39,126 --> 01:22:40,794 The Baltimore City Police Department 1662 01:22:40,877 --> 01:22:42,794 says the case is closed. 1663 01:22:42,877 --> 01:22:45,168 Detective Sean Suiter killed himself 1664 01:22:45,252 --> 01:22:47,043 two years ago in Harlem Park. 1665 01:22:47,126 --> 01:22:49,669 - It was a statement few saw coming, 1666 01:22:49,752 --> 01:22:51,418 brief and with no context, 1667 01:22:51,502 --> 01:22:53,168 issued by the city police commissioner. 1668 01:22:58,002 --> 01:23:00,252 Case closed. 1669 01:23:00,335 --> 01:23:02,043 - If the commissioner thought he was putting an end 1670 01:23:02,126 --> 01:23:05,877 to all this with his statement yesterday, he did anything but. 1671 01:23:05,961 --> 01:23:07,585 - I just want to know how many times 1672 01:23:07,669 --> 01:23:09,418 y'all gonna kill my husband? 1673 01:23:09,502 --> 01:23:13,418 This is an embarrassment to our family, his friends. 1674 01:23:15,418 --> 01:23:16,710 We ready for war. 1675 01:23:16,794 --> 01:23:19,293 Like my lawyer said, we ready for war. 1676 01:23:22,085 --> 01:23:25,752 - If that's how they want it, then they better be ready. 1677 01:23:27,210 --> 01:23:29,543 - We're not wearing these shirts for nothing. 1678 01:23:31,752 --> 01:23:35,585 - Baltimore's top prosecutor says this case is not over. 1679 01:23:35,669 --> 01:23:37,585 - With all open and pending matters, 1680 01:23:37,669 --> 01:23:39,961 I cannot ethically comment on them. 1681 01:23:40,043 --> 01:23:42,460 - The State's Attorney's office did not respond to our question 1682 01:23:42,543 --> 01:23:44,252 about what they may be pursuing. 1683 01:23:44,335 --> 01:23:45,794 - So open and pending meaning there is 1684 01:23:45,877 --> 01:23:46,877 an investigation by your office. 1685 01:23:46,961 --> 01:23:48,252 - It is an open and pending matter. 1686 01:23:48,335 --> 01:23:49,752 - That was all the State's Attorney 1687 01:23:49,835 --> 01:23:51,043 would say today, 1688 01:23:51,126 --> 01:23:53,710 but for its part, the office of the chief medical examiner 1689 01:23:53,794 --> 01:23:57,418 says Suiter's death does remain a homicide. 1690 01:23:57,502 --> 01:23:59,043 - The chief medical examiner 1691 01:23:59,126 --> 01:24:02,252 said that he had some real concerns about the case. 1692 01:24:02,335 --> 01:24:04,919 He noted the fact that the casings 1693 01:24:05,002 --> 01:24:08,002 couldn't definitively be linked to the gun, 1694 01:24:08,085 --> 01:24:11,126 just that they were the same type of gun. 1695 01:24:11,210 --> 01:24:14,043 He said it just wasn't good enough, 1696 01:24:14,126 --> 01:24:17,377 but the biggest thing for him was that 1697 01:24:17,460 --> 01:24:20,126 Suiter had gone through their training 1698 01:24:20,210 --> 01:24:22,168 on how to tell the difference between a homicide 1699 01:24:22,252 --> 01:24:24,168 and a suicide. 1700 01:24:24,252 --> 01:24:26,002 Shooting yourself in the head, 1701 01:24:26,085 --> 01:24:28,961 Suiter would have known that's a clear sign 1702 01:24:29,043 --> 01:24:31,126 that someone shot themselves 1703 01:24:31,210 --> 01:24:32,502 and that he wouldn't have done it that way. 1704 01:24:32,585 --> 01:24:34,126 He would have shot himself in the chest 1705 01:24:34,210 --> 01:24:36,794 because that is less likely to appear as a suicide. 1706 01:24:36,877 --> 01:24:39,002 So the chief medical examiner 1707 01:24:39,085 --> 01:24:42,543 felt as though the way he did it was, in some ways, 1708 01:24:42,627 --> 01:24:45,627 too obvious of a suicide to be a suicide. 1709 01:24:47,919 --> 01:24:50,210 all: Give us the shooter... - For Sean Suiter! 1710 01:24:50,293 --> 01:24:52,460 all: Give us the shooter... - For Sean Suiter! 1711 01:24:52,543 --> 01:24:54,543 all: Give us the shooter... - For Sean Suiter! 1712 01:24:54,627 --> 01:24:56,877 all: Give us the shooter... - For Sean Suiter! 1713 01:24:56,961 --> 01:24:59,293 all: Give us the shooter... - For Sean Suiter! 1714 01:24:59,377 --> 01:25:01,377 all: Give us the shooter... - For Sean Suiter! 1715 01:25:01,460 --> 01:25:03,168 - My husband did not kill himself. 1716 01:25:03,252 --> 01:25:04,877 It was a homicide, not a suicide. 1717 01:25:04,961 --> 01:25:08,085 - Where are the police today? 1718 01:25:08,168 --> 01:25:10,961 Where are the people that said they were his friends? 1719 01:25:11,043 --> 01:25:13,002 - Sean deserves... all: Justice! 1720 01:25:13,085 --> 01:25:15,877 - I want you to look around and tell me where the mayor is. 1721 01:25:15,961 --> 01:25:18,002 I want you to tell me where the commissioner is, 1722 01:25:18,085 --> 01:25:20,126 because I assure you they're all standing behind me 1723 01:25:20,210 --> 01:25:21,335 looking out of the damn window. 1724 01:25:21,418 --> 01:25:22,502 all: Justice! 1725 01:25:22,585 --> 01:25:24,835 - And I never knew that when we got the call 1726 01:25:24,919 --> 01:25:28,835 this same day two years ago that two years later 1727 01:25:28,919 --> 01:25:31,252 we would still be fighting the same battle. 1728 01:25:31,335 --> 01:25:33,252 - Sean deserves... all: Justice! 1729 01:25:33,335 --> 01:25:34,710 - Sean deserves... all: Justice! 1730 01:25:34,794 --> 01:25:36,293 - Sean deserves... all: Justice! 1731 01:25:36,377 --> 01:25:37,543 - Sean deserves... 1732 01:25:37,627 --> 01:25:40,543 [somber music] 1733 01:25:40,627 --> 01:25:42,002 ♪ ♪ 1734 01:25:42,085 --> 01:25:45,335 - Did Sean Suiter kill himself? 1735 01:25:45,418 --> 01:25:48,418 Did somebody in the alley shoot him? 1736 01:25:48,502 --> 01:25:49,418 Was it a hit 1737 01:25:49,502 --> 01:25:52,835 from the Baltimore City Police Department? 1738 01:25:52,919 --> 01:25:56,585 At the end of the day, Sean has joined a list 1739 01:25:56,669 --> 01:25:59,377 of a whole lot of Black people in the city 1740 01:25:59,460 --> 01:26:01,794 whose killing will never be solved 1741 01:26:01,877 --> 01:26:03,543 because the system is broken 1742 01:26:03,627 --> 01:26:05,543 and it has been for a long time. 1743 01:26:05,627 --> 01:26:07,377 [indistinct chatter] 1744 01:26:07,460 --> 01:26:09,502 - Push it back, push it back. 1745 01:26:09,585 --> 01:26:13,126 - And we keep doing the same things to try to fix it. 1746 01:26:13,210 --> 01:26:16,794 Elect a new mayor, hire a new police commissioner, 1747 01:26:16,877 --> 01:26:18,919 hire 10,000 brand-new police officers. 1748 01:26:19,002 --> 01:26:23,002 They all come in and subscribe to the same shit. 1749 01:26:23,085 --> 01:26:26,961 [indistinct chanting] 1750 01:26:27,043 --> 01:26:29,627 Poor leadership breeds revolutionaries, 1751 01:26:29,710 --> 01:26:32,919 and we just got to be there to pick up the pieces. 1752 01:26:33,002 --> 01:26:39,919 ♪ ♪ 1753 01:26:56,710 --> 01:26:59,126 - Give me my kiss. 1754 01:26:59,210 --> 01:27:01,168 Mwah! 1755 01:27:24,377 --> 01:27:27,126 - ♪ Tired of being strong ♪ 1756 01:27:27,210 --> 01:27:29,252 ♪ In the face of wrong ♪ 1757 01:27:29,335 --> 01:27:33,585 ♪ I'm looking for the answers ♪ 1758 01:27:33,669 --> 01:27:36,669 ♪ Nobody givin' chances ♪ 1759 01:27:36,752 --> 01:27:39,877 - ♪ Tired of being strong ♪ 1760 01:27:39,961 --> 01:27:41,710 ♪ In the face of wrong ♪ 1761 01:27:41,794 --> 01:27:46,126 ♪ I'm looking for the answers ♪ 1762 01:27:46,210 --> 01:27:50,126 ♪ Nobody givin' chances ♪ 1763 01:27:50,210 --> 01:27:52,210 ♪ Oh ♪ 1764 01:27:52,293 --> 01:27:56,126 ♪ Nobody givin' chances ♪ 1765 01:27:56,210 --> 01:27:58,460 ♪ Ohh ♪ 1766 01:27:58,543 --> 01:28:02,293 ♪ Nobody givin' chances ♪ 1767 01:28:02,377 --> 01:28:09,335 ♪ ♪ 1768 01:28:29,502 --> 01:28:32,418 [bright tone]