Bates releases updated ‘do not call’ list of 60 current and former cops who can’t testify

The Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office on Monday released a new list of 60 current and former police officers who have credibility issues serious enough to block them from testifying in criminal cases.

The new list includes 11 officers who are still employed and another 49 who left law enforcement in the past five years or who were implicated in misconduct by the Baltimore Police Department’s corrupt Gun Trace Task Force.

Officers on the list will not be called to testify as part of cases brought by the Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office.

“Undoubtedly, our officers put their lives on the line daily to shoulder the immense responsibility of keeping our communities safe and helping residents in need with honor and integrity,” State’s Attorney Ivan Bates said in a news release. “The few in uniform who gamble with the credibility of their department and the integrity of my prosecutors’ cases must be identified for the sake of accountability.”

The new list arrived several months after the office took down a previous list published by Bates’ predecessor, Marilyn Mosby. That list included 90 officers and included dozens of officers who had been convicted of crimes and were no longer employed by the police department.

A spokesman for Bates said previously that the new list would focus more on officers who are currently working. The new list does not include officers who have been off the force for more than five years, though requests for a list that goes back further can be submitted through a Public Information Act request.

Unlike the Mosby list, the new list does not provide information about why an officer has been included. The new list does include officers who were implicated in the Gun Trace Task Force scandal and distinguishes them with an asterisk.

It includes officers such as Wayne Jenkins, the former leader of the Gun Trace Task Force who is serving 25 years in federal prison for robbing Baltimore residents and abusing his police powers.

Bates on Monday also announced new policies to determine whether an officer should be placed on the do not call list. Officers with “sustained” internal charges that relate to their truthfulness, such as theft or false statement charges, will be placed on the list, according to Monday’s news release.

Officers with pending criminal charges or a conviction that calls their credibility into question will also be placed on the list. Bates can also use his discretion to decide whether an officer will be called if there is evidence that raises questions about the officer’s trustworthiness, though he will inform the Baltimore Police Department before adding the name to the list.

Officers can also be removed from the list if they are found to be “sufficiently reliable,” such as if their internal affairs or criminal charges were not sustained or did not result in a conviction.

In an emailed statement, acting police Commissioner Richard J. Worley thanked Bates for “producing a list of officers that reflects our current police department.”

“We are committed to getting officers with integrity issues off the streets of Baltimore and putting the best officers forward in rebuilding trust with the communities we serve,” Worley said. “I’ve said this before, ‘one bad cop is too many,’ and we will continue to work alongside the State’s Attorney Office and others in putting the best cases forward in creating a safer Baltimore for all.”

Mosby had to release the original do not call list in 2021 after Maryland’s intermediate appellate court ruled that her office had improperly failed to disclose the list in response to a public records request from the Baltimore Action Legal Team.

The Maryland Office of the Public Defender, which has long pushed for more transparency about police misconduct, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.

The State’s Attorney’s Office said that it worked with OPD to develop a “more streamlined and legally sound process” to ensure discovery related to an officer’s credibility is provided to defendants and their lawyer as soon as prosecutors know about it. That new process will be implemented this week, the office said.