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Baltimore Police are currently investigating body-camera footage, which appear to show officer planting drugs at a crime scene. Officer Richard Pinheiro, can be seen in the video, allegedly placing drugs in the alleyway and later going back to “discover” to drugs to make his arrest.
The video was released by the city public defender’s office. The body-cam footage was originally discovered by the assistant public defender representing the unnamed defendant in the criminal case. After the tape was sent to the state’s attorney’s office last week, all charges were dropped.
An internal investigation into the matter is underway, according to police. Pinheiro and the two unnamed officers in the videos are currently being investigated by authorities.
“We take allegations like this very seriously and that’s why we launched an internal investigation into the accusations,” Baltimore Police said in a statement. “We are fortunate to have Body Worn Cameras which provide a perspective of the events as reported.”
Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said at a press conference that the “drug planting” allegation is “very serious … that’s as serious as it gets. I take it very seriously, our Office of Professional Responsibility is investigating this matter, they’re taking it very, very seriously.”
Davis added that, “This is a serious allegation of police misconduct. There’s nothing that deteriorates the trust of any community more than thinking for one second that uniformed police officers, that police officers in general would plant evidence of crimes on citizens.”
