Federal Trial Unravels Years of Police Corruption in Baltimore

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After nine days in the courtroom, Baltimore's federal corruption case moves into closing arguments today. On trial are Detectives Marcus Taylor and Daniel Hersl.

Last year, eight members of Baltimore's Gun Trace Task Force were indicted on racketeering charges. Since then, six Baltimore officers have plead guilty and four officers have testified against Detectives Taylor and Hersl. 

The government called 32 witnesses to testify in the case, while the defense only called three witnesses. These testimonies revealed that officers of the task force allegedly took part in criminal activity ranging from stealing and selling drugs and guns to carrying BB guns to plant on people. Around 3,000 criminal cases were tainted by the task force over the years, according to the public defender's office. 

Jayne Miller, an investigative reporter with WBAL-TV, has been covering the trial from the courtroom and she joins  The Takeaway to discuss the trial’s latest developments.

The Takeaway also hears from former federal public defender Kathryn Frey-Balter, now a law professor and freelance writer, about how for years vulnerable communities spoke up about police corruption, but no one listened until now. 

This segment is hosted by Todd Zwillich.