BALTIMORE — Baltimore’s spending board is set to consider a $575,000 settlement with a man who claims three members of the corrupt Gun Trace Task Force planted a gun in his vehicle during a 2015 traffic stop.
Eight officers in the GTTF unit were convicted of racketeering, armed robbery, selling drugs, falsifying overtime and planting evidence on suspects they arrested.
Officers Marcus Taylor, Evodio Hendrix and Wayne Jenkins initiated a traffic stop of Darnell Earl on Oct. 18, 2015, according to a Baltimore City Law Department memo on the settlement sent to the Board of Estimates.
They claimed they found a firearm.
Earl, who had previous convictions, was charged with multiple gun offenses and pleaded guilty to one, serving 1 1/2 years in prison, according to the memo.
Taylor, Hendrix and Jenkins pleaded guilty to federal charges including racketeering in 2017, and Earl’s conviction from the traffic stop was subsequently vacated.
In 2020, Earl sued the city, alleging there was no probable cause for the traffic stop and the gun was planted in his vehicle, according to the memo.
“Plaintiff’s Complaint included state claims of false arrest, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress and a federal claims for fabrication of evidence, negligent supervision and training, and a custom or policy of deliberate indifference,” the law department said.
The city’s lawyers are recommending approval of the settlement to avoid “the expense, time, and uncertainties of further protracted litigation and the potential for an excess judgment.”
The Board of Estimates will vote on the settlement at its Sept. 7 meeting.
Baltimore has paid more than $14 million in restitution to victims of the GTTF, including $300,000 to rapper Young Moose, who settled in June.