Baltimore’s spending board approved $645,000 on Wednesday to settle two more legal disputes related to the city police department’s disgraced Gun Trace Task Force, bringing the total amount paid out related to the rogue unit to more than $16 million.
The two settlements, one for $330,000 with Jamar Bowles and another for $315,000 with Alex Holden, close out two lawsuits filed in August alleging task force officers planted drugs.
James Corley, a city attorney, said there was no evidence in either case beyond the testimony of the plaintiffs and the officers involved. Still, the city was unwilling to risk submitting to jury trials in both cases given credibility concerns about task force officers.
Members of the force task routinely violated people’s rights and stole drugs and money using the authority of their badge.
“We were not confident we would obtain a favorable verdict from a jury,” Corley said.
Mayor Brandon Scott, one of the board’s five members, said after the meeting that the actions of the Gun Trace Task Force are a “black eye” on the city and illustrates the need for further reform of the police department.
“We know that this history is going to be here for a long time,” he said. “That $16 million in these lawsuits could have built a new rec center in Baltimore City.”
In the case of Bowles, several Baltimore Police officers including Det. Daniel Hersl were patrolling in August 2013 and March 2014 when they saw Bowles “engaging in behavior consistent” with a drug transaction, according to the board’s agenda. They stopped and detained Bowles, recovering cash and drugs, the agenda says.
Bowles was charged with several drug-related violations for both incidents and pleaded guilty to one charge for each incident, the agenda states. He served two years in prison as well as 3.5 years of parole. His charges were vacated in 2019 after revelations about the task force’s criminal activity.
Bowles sued Hersl and several other unnamed officers in August, alleging there was no probable cause to stop him and that the drugs recovered were planted by Hersl and the other officers.
Hersl is serving an 18-year sentence in federal prison after a jury convicted him in 2018 of racketeering crimes related to the Gun Trace Task Force corruption scandal. He was accused of stealing money during his time with the force and beforehand.
In the second case involving Holden, Officers Jason Giordano and Jimmy Shetterly attempted to stop him in May 2012 when they saw him “engaging in behavior consistent” with a drug transaction, according to the Board of Estimates’ agenda. Holden fled and Giordano said he witnessed Holden discard a white package, the agenda says. The officers caught and arrested Holden and recovered the package, which contained suspected drugs, according to the agenda.
Holden was charged with various drug-related charges and pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute, according to the agenda. He served more than two years in prison as well as one year of parole before his charges were vacated in 2019.
Holden sued in August, alleging there was no probable cause for his stop and that the drugs recovered were planted by the officers.
Attorney Hannah Ernstberger, who represented Bowles and Holden, said she thought her clients deserved larger settlements, but she was pleased the city settled the claims quickly.
“It was a matter of putting the cases behind them and being able to move on with their lives,” she said.
With the newly approved settlements, the total paid out by the city related to the task force rose to $16.2 million.
The largest of those settlements, $7.9 million, was paid to Umar Burley and Brent Matthews, who both went to federal prison for drugs that were planted in their vehicle in 2010. That amount eclipsed the settlement paid in 2015 to the family of Freddie Gray, who died from injuries sustained in police custody. The average settlement has been $443,000 per case.
Corley said Wednesday that five open lawsuits remain related to the task force. One, involving the victims of a fatal car crash caused as police pursued Burley and Matthews in 2010, presents a significant potential liability, Corley said.
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