We Own This City

A True Story of Crime, Cops, and Corruption

De: Justin Fenton

Narrado por: Dion Graham

NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS’ CHOICE • The astonishing true story of “one of the most startling police corruption scandals in a generation” (The New York Times), from the Pulitzer Prize–nominated reporter who exposed a gang of criminal cops and their yearslong plunder of an American city

NOW AN HBO SERIES FROM THE WIRE CREATOR DAVID SIMON AND GEORGE PELECANOS

“A work of journalism that not only chronicles the rise and fall of a corrupt police unit but can stand as the inevitable coda to the half-century of disaster that is the American drug war.”—David Simon

Baltimore, 2015. Riots are erupting across the city as citizens demand justice for Freddie Gray, a twenty-five-year-old Black man who has died under suspicious circumstances while in police custody. Drug and violent crime are surging, and Baltimore will reach its highest murder count in more than two decades: 342 homicides in a single year, in a city of just 600,000 people. Facing pressure from the mayor’s office—as well as a federal investigation of the department over Gray’s death—Baltimore police commanders turn to a rank-and-file hero, Sergeant Wayne Jenkins, and his elite plainclothes unit, the Gun Trace Task Force, to help get guns and drugs off the street.

But behind these new efforts, a criminal conspiracy of unprecedented scale was unfolding within the police department. Entrusted with fixing the city’s drug and gun crisis, Jenkins chose to exploit it instead. With other members of the empowered Gun Trace Task Force, Jenkins stole from Baltimore’s citizens—skimming from drug busts, pocketing thousands in cash found in private homes, and planting fake evidence to throw Internal Affairs off their scent. Their brazen crime spree would go unchecked for years. The results were countless wrongful convictions, the death of an innocent civilian, and the mysterious death of one cop who was shot in the head, killed just a day before he was scheduled to testify against the unit.

In this urgent book, award-winning investigative journalist Justin Fenton distills hundreds of interviews, thousands of court documents, and countless hours of video footage to present the definitive account of the entire scandal. The result is an astounding, riveting feat of reportage about a rogue police unit, the city they held hostage, and the ongoing struggle between American law enforcement and the communities they are charged to serve.

riveting!

the research and the way the author puts forth the story takes you inside

Layered tragedy

The author did an excellent job of contextualizing several different stories. The author showed how the stories were intertwined but also didn't do the intellectually lazy thing of saying one thing led to another. I really appreciated how the author did not try to make anyone solely a hero or solely a villain. They were simply human. I didn't want it to end because I know some of these story lines continue.

Fenton Uncovers the Horrors of GTTF

Justin Fenton does a remarkable job revealing the horrors inflicted by the GTTF in Baltimore. Now if we just knew the whole truth of all the officers involved I believe we would be truly shocked. How can the PD and the prosecutor's office let this go on and on and on without listening to the citizens and the defense attorneys who warned and continue to warn.

a true look into Baltimore and corruption

very well written and eye opening with details. helps you understand the issues and corruption within Baltimore. highly recommend this book. Justin took his time and did it right when writing it.

Sad that there are unlawful police, sad that is overlooked and allowed

I was unaware of this story, it is sad that police are allowed to act this way and say times even treated like heroes. I’m glad these guys got caught and hope good cops keep up their efforts!