The Baltimore Police Department has suspended seven officers after video emerged appearing to show them planting marijuana in a car and arresting its driver on drug charges. The police body cam video shows officers stopping a man and a woman in a car last November.
Officer: “Step out.”
Civilian: “What are you stopping us for?”
Officer: “Step out.”
Civilian: “What do you mean 'step out'? What are you stopping us for?”
Officer: “Put your hands on your head.”
Civilian: “For what?”
The video shows police searching the car, with one officer expressing frustration over coming up empty-handed. The officers then turn off their body cameras, before a new recording begins showing an officer searching part of the car that had already been checked.
Officer 1: “Anybody check this compartment?”
Officer 2: “Oh, my god! I knew it. That’s why they were freaking out.”
Officer 1: “That’s the weed smell right there.”
Officer 3: “There you go.”
Prosecutors have dropped charges against the driver over suspected police misconduct. It’s the second such case in Baltimore within recent weeks. A video made public last month appeared to show three other officers planting heroin in an alleyway ahead of a drug arrest. State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby says over 100 criminal cases that would have relied on testimony from those officers are now under review, with more than 40 cases already dropped.