Posted on 05/08/2015 6:03:29 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
In 2011, I was arrested by Baltimore City Police on charges of conspiracy to commit first degree attempted murder.
You might be asking yourself, “Why? What did he do?” I took a cell phone video of a small drunken scuffle in a downtown Baltimore parking garage. I was not a participant in the fight, nor was I an instigator. Despite what the facts of the situation presented, a personal family relationship with one of the so-called “victims” took precedence over the law. What started as a typical two-sided misdemeanor became a one-sided fight for freedom. I spent 50 days in the Baltimore City Detention Center facing two life sentences, and a host of other charges mounting to well over 200 years in prison, all for simply taking a video.
I’ve seen the corruption firsthand. I’ve seen how a law enforcement agent’s personal agenda can destroy a life. I’ve seen how charges are ramped up in order to make a lesser charge stick. I’ve seen detainees entering jail with worse injuries than the participants in the fight I captured on video, all at the hands of police. I’ve also seen the corruption that resides in BCDC on my 50-day tour of the jail.
The conditions at this facility were sub-human, in some cases. Ignoring the mice, cockroaches and decaying conditions, basic necessities of life were severely lacking. The food was nearly inedible and, in some cases, hazardous. For example, the drink flavoring had a poisonous emblem on it, eggs were often brown and rotten when served, and during my stay we even lost water for four days, which meant toilets and sinks did not work. All we had was a cooler jug that was brought in to drink from. Showers were so hot (not adjustable) you could not stand in the water. I saw a detainee drop on the floor, having a seizure from withdrawal, because drugs are not administered for close to a week after arrival. My experience in jail was that of an educated observant, and what I saw was appalling. The list goes on and on.
Now I’m not here to vilify police or law enforcement in general. I believe there are guys on Baltimore’s force that are honest and true and I would be by their side if they needed me. However, I hope events of recent have helped open people’s eyes to those who are not as honest. My hope is that those in power take a long, hard look at this and begin policing themselves internally. Far too much is overlooked. Those officers who are violating laws should face stricter punishments, and those who have flawless records should find themselves commended more often.
I wrote down my experiences in Baltimore while in jail and mailed over 60 pages of memoirs home. After my charges were dropped, I was unable to sue the city civilly, so I began writing a book chronicling my personal experiences and the corruption I witnessed. My book, Mags to Riches, was written in an attempt to tell my story and hopefully regain my family’s financial losses that I was unable to recover in a civil suit. I began utilizing social media to grow an audience in order to gain readers for my book. I could not have known at the time, but soon after filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the social media pursuit would become my financial savior. In the two years following my arrest, I went completely broke and subsequently became a self-made social media millionaire. I am currently working on a second book which will tell how I made millions on Facebook.
I’ve seen what a corrupt legal system can do first hand and want to share my story with others as a cautionary tale. If we overlook or ignore corruption within our own governing bodies, we risk situations like Baltimore expanding to other cities. We need to recognize the problems with law enforcement.
Corruption affects everyone, however, not everyone has the stamina to fight back or to endure what I endured. That is the reason I want to stand up and say, “Accept that there is a problem, Baltimore and FIX IT!”
I was on a business trip one time in San Antonio and left some technology at the hotel. They sent it to me.
Thanks for filling in the blanks. The original except was obviously leaving a lot out.
For decades many big city pds were corrupt. Yet most of the citizens of those cities were law-abiding people who didn't riot and loot at the first opportunity.
"Corrupt" pds is a red herring for the out of control violence committed by many black residents in many cities across the country.
This pretty much MO in many places, not just Baltimore. That racist cop crap is a wash wash noise to cover up the real crap going on down there. The Feds are guilty of sending white cops to stop blacks from starting businesses (EPA regs etc to keep people on plantation) and the locals are guilty of perjuries. So a whacky story about racism that goes nowhere is going to be pushed forward, crucifying Christ so to speak, instead.
But if you are setting up fights to generate content for a website, the charge might be valid.
Looks like he beat the rap, but he didn’t beat the ride.
bfl
“Looks like he beat the rap, but he didn’t beat the ride.”
Petty sure I don’t want to live in that kind of society. Punishment isn’t up to the cops not should it be.
L
It was not exactly his two friends. He was there to interview them. Two dudes that were members of a motorcycle street stunt gang. They all went out drinking.
Ah, I’ve seen the other type which is why I asked.
The BIG elephant in the room that I just don’t see being talked about anywhere is this plain fact:
Police departments are a -product- of the place they serve.
Good places tend to have nicer, more polite police. Bad places tend to have cynical, suspicious and jumpy police. This should surprise nobody.
Baltimore cops are the way they are because... Well... Have you seen where they work lately? The place causes the police to be the way they are, more than the police cause the place to be the way it is.
Seriously ? I was reading recently a history of the LAPD and due process is almost beside the point — even before the first third of the twentieth century, the department had been exceedingly corrupt. Civic leaders condoned
that state of affairs because the department also served as a tool of local business interests in suppressing immigrants and organized labor. Large numbers of officers received bribes from liquor, gambling, and prostitution interests, which in turn were allowed to conduct their business freely. Brutality against citizens, unlawful arrests, and other forms of misconduct ran rampant throughout the department. There is absolutely no doubt police throughout the country have a lengthy history of harassment, physical abuse, and civil rights violations against law abiding minority individuals.
Life is cruel when Democrats rule.
Yeah, but corrupt cops don’t cause people i.e. non-cops to commit crimes.
That’s how they became millionaires. Graft, kick backs, and ignoring they people they were elected to serve and protect.
This guy may be totally on the up and up. I can’t say he is or he isn’t.
It’s what’s left out of a recitation like this that causes me concern.
How do I know this is all that was involved?
It doesn’t sound good for the police, but I have never seen a perp error on the side of the police. I have seen many error on their own side.
Yes, he only had
"a personal family relationship with one"
whatever that means.
I'm guessing he described most county lock ups in the country.
Three were charged - co-defendents with the author. At least one was found guilty. The prosecutor chose not to prosecute him.
What’s with “attempted murder” charges. What he describes is common practice now on all sorts of crimes. A friend got stopped going 65 in a 50 (crossing a bridge on an interstate freeway, where the limit is 60 miles per hour on either side of the bridge) . The cops breathalized him, he passed by a decent margin and they still charged him with reckless driving, DUI, failure to yeild (the cop didn’t like where he pulled over). Of course, all they really wanted was a guilty plea and a bunch of money.
This is common here. They brag about how they arrest everyone for DUI if they detect ANY alcohol in your test, despite there being a clear legal limit of .08 or whatever. It’s like the police have made up their own law, and enforce it, not the one passed by the legislature. They also force people to do all sorts of things prior to being convicted: take behavior modification classes, pay for substance abuse counseling, all before you go to trial. All these cost money too.
Innocent before proven guilty doesn’t exist anymore, if it ever did.
There is nothing in the First Amendment requiring you to speak. About anything.
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