A long-running lawsuit involving police misconduct has flared up again, as Baltimore officials balk at paying a court award levied against its officers — an unusual move in such legal disputes.
At stake is an award against three officers who allegedly picked up two teens in West Baltimore at separate times in May 2009 and dropped them miles from home. Michael Johnson Jr., one of the teens involved, won a $500,000 judgment in a trial, but that amount was reduced to comply with a state law that caps damages in such cases.
Now Johnson's attorneys have filed court papers seeking to collect $281,000 from the city. The garnishment claim filed by A. Dwight Pettit and Allan B. Rabineau is a rare move, because the city typically pays court judgments against officers, as part of its contract with the Fraternal Order of Police.
Pettit says he will work to collect the money from either the city or the officers. All three officers have left the Police Department.
"We're going to pursue this … and locate and seize their assets," Pettit said. "We'll let the city and [police union] deal with the fallout and who is responsible for paying. This is unusual. I don't know why the city is taking this route."
The city will fight the request. City leaders have argued that the officers were operating outside their official duties.
"After reviewing the relevant laws and legal precedents, the city does not agree and intends to vigorously fight this legal motion," said Howard Libit, spokesman for Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.
Generally, the city pays court judgments and settlements related to allegations of misconduct. In fact, a Baltimore Sun investigation found that from 2011 to 2014, the city paid nearly $6 million in more than 100 civil lawsuits alleging brutality or other misconduct. In such settlements, neither the officer nor the city acknowledges wrongdoing.
The police union contract calls for the city to defend officers against litigation. A "Protection Against Liability" section in the contract states: "The city will provide indemnification to any member of the Unit who is made a defendant in litigation arising out of acts within the scope of his/her employment."
Union leaders have warned that officers might be fearful of doing their work if the city does not back them in the lawsuits.
The garnishment claim comes at a time of heightened tension between the police union, and Rawlings-Blake and police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts. Union leaders have questioned the officials' leadership during the April riots that followed Freddie Gray's death in police custody. Six officers have been charged in connection to Gray's death.
At the time of the 2009 incidents, Officers Tyrone S. Francis, Gregory Hellen and Milton G. Smith III worked as members of the Violent Crimes Impact Section, which patrolled high-crime areas.
Hellen declined to comment for this article; Smith, Francis and the union's public relation's firm, Clapp Communications, did not respond to requests for comment. The officers also faced criminal charges in the incident; Hellen was acquitted; the others were given probation before judgment.
Johnson's lawsuit said the officers forced him into an unmarked police van, hit him with a nightstick and threw his cellphone out the window before dropping him off at Patapsco Valley State Park in Howard County without his shoes and socks. He was 15 at the time.
The officers faced charges that included kidnapping, false imprisonment, second-degree assault and misconduct in office. Robert F. Cherry, the union president at the time, called the allegations "trumped-up charges" and said "the facts will show the officers were doing their jobs."
In February 2012, attorneys representing the officers, including City Solicitor George Nilson, agreed to settle the lawsuit for $150,000. Both sides signed the agreement, and a judge canceled a March trial date and closed the case.
Five months later, a city judge ordered the Board of Estimates to vote publicly on the matter after he learned city officials had killed the settlement during a closed-door meeting. At the time, Rawlings-Blake would not vote for the settlement and said the officers had acted outside the scope of their duties.
The civil case then went to trial. In January 2013, a jury awarded Johnson $500,000, and found that Smith and Francis acted with malice. The Court of Special Appeals upheld that finding in October 2014, and the Court of Appeals declined to hear the city's appeal.
But the award was reduced by a judge to conform with a state law that caps such awards at $200,000. The garnishment request also seeks interest on the award since January 2013.
Commenting for The Sun's investigation last year, Nilson said it's unrealistic to expect officers to pay damages from lawsuits, and he questioned the level of policing that would exist if officers lost their homes or wages in lawsuits. He said he didn't like the guarantee of defending all officers accused of misconduct but added, "We've learned to live with it. It's the right thing to do."
Pettit, who has sued numerous city officers in the past 40 years, said it's not often that he agrees with the police union. Garnishing assets of officers or former officers "will bring pressure from the FOP" on the city, he predicted.
"We're on the same side as [the FOP]," Pettit said. "The city has a responsibility to stand up and pay this."
Legal wrangling over the criminal charges also lasted for years.
In 2011, then-Baltimore City State's Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein prosecuted the officers. A jury acquitted Hellen of all charges. Smith and Francis were acquitted of kidnapping, but convicted of misconduct, a misdemeanor.
A judge then downgraded the charges and granted Smith and Francis probation before judgment, which allowed them to wipe their records clean after completing the terms of probation.
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