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Death of Sean Suiter

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Sean Suiter
Born(1974-10-06)October 6, 1974
Washington, D.C., U.S.
DiedNovember 16, 2017(2017-11-16) (aged 43)
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Alma materMcKinley Technology High School
Police career
DepartmentBaltimore Police Department
RankSworn in as an officer - 1999
Detective

On November 16, 2017, Sean Suiter (born October 6, 1974), a Baltimore Police Department homicide detective, was found dead with a shot in the head, a day before he was scheduled to testify in front of a federal grand jury against corrupt police connected to the Gun Trace Task Force scandal.[1][2][3]

Career and background

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Suiter, 43, was an 18-year veteran of the Baltimore Police Department, and a United States Army veteran of the Iraq War.[4] Colleagues have said Suiter was "an honest and beloved cop"; a neighbor described Suiter saying, "He was pleasant; had a smile on his face all the time. He looks young ... looks vibrant and has a great spirit about him."[5] Suiter was given a hero's funeral and praised for his work as an officer.[6] Former Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said Suiter was not a target of the federal investigation around the Gun Trace Task Force. Suiter however, was connected earlier in his career to several members of the corrupt Gun Trace Task Force including Sgt. Wayne Jenkins,[7] Detective Maurice Ward, and Detective Momodu Gondo, who each later pled guilty in the racketeering case.[1] Gondo, a disgraced former detective, also told a jury that Suiter was corrupt and that they stole money together.[8]

Death

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The funeral for Sean Suiter. From left to right, Governor Larry Hogan, Mayor Catherine Pugh, and police commissioner Kevin Davis are in attendance.

Suiter was investigating a triple homicide that occurred a year earlier, when the shooting occurred near 959 Bennett Place, in Baltimore, Maryland. He was shot in the head at close range with his own service weapon, which was recovered under his body. Blood was found on the inside of Suiter's shirt sleeve. Suiter's DNA was found inside the barrel of his own Glock.[9] His death remains unsolved despite a $215,000 reward. Members of an outside review board[10][11] released a 207-page report[12] and concluded that Suiter was not murdered but took his own life because he was due to testify before a grand jury the next day and staged his death to appear like a murder so his family could receive line of duty benefits in case he lost his job as a result of incriminating details coming to light the grand jury testimony. The review board argued that Suiter was under duress about potentially being tied to corruption through the Gun Trace Task Force case, and had "every incentive" to make his suicide appear to be a murder.[13][14] The Baltimore Sun Editorial Board published a detailed article arguing why the theory that Suiter was murdered was implausible. They concluded by stating: "We have no idea who killed Sean Suiter. Each explanation is as implausible as the next."[15]

City officials, however, have been split about the case. The medical examiner ruled that his death was a homicide.[16] In 2020, Baltimore City made a decision to award $900,000 in workers' compensation benefits to Suiter's widow Nicole Suiter. Nicole Suiter claimed that the fact that she received this workers' compensation payment is an implicit admission by the city that Suiter was indeed murdered and did not commit suicide, as "You do not win workers' compensation cases unless you are injured, hurt or killed on the job."[17][18]

Kevin Davis, the Baltimore Police Commissioner at the time, believed that Suiter was murdered.[19] He asked the FBI to take over the investigation into Suiter's death. However, the FBI declined, saying it had no evidence to suggest Suiter's death was "directly connected" to the corruption probe or any other federal case.[20]

The controversy around Suiter's death was once again brought to public attention with HBO's release of We Own This City, a portrayal of the Gun Trace Task Force scandal.[21] The show depicted Suiter staging his suicide to appear like a murder.[22] The show also insinuated that Suiter took his own life because he was afraid of being implicated by his own grand jury testimony. This aroused much anger from Suiter's friends and family who did not believe it was a suicide.[23][24] David Simon published a rebuttal defending the show's depiction of the events.[25]

Closing of Harlem Park neighborhood

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After Suiter was found shot, police cordoned off and put the Harlem Park neighborhood on lockdown for six days. The area included 100 houses, a church and two stores. Described as akin to martial law,[26] officers positioned around the area's perimeter stopped residents, asking them for identification and preventing them from entering their own homes without identification. Members of the community later sued the city for the lockdown alleging that the city violated residents' constitutional rights. The Baltimore Police Department paid $96,000 to settle the suit[27] and issued a formal apology.[28]

[edit]

Suiter has been the focus of several media and popular culture works:

  • Fenton, Justin (2021). We Own This City: A True Story of Crime, Cops, and Corruption. London: Faber & Faber Limited. ISBN 978-0-5713-5663-8.
  • The Slow Hustle (HBO, 2021) - a documentary from director Sonja Sohn
  • We Own This City (HBO, 2022) - a miniseries based on Fenton's book. Suiter was played by Jamie Hector

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Who is Detective Sean Suiter? Baltimore officer whose death remains unsolved comes up in gun task force trial". The Baltimore Sun. 5 February 2018. Retrieved 2022-06-02.
  2. ^ Fenton, Justin (2 May 2019). "Family of Baltimore Detective Suiter alleges killing was an 'inside job'". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 4 May 2019. Retrieved 2022-06-02.
  3. ^ Orman, Shelley (April 28, 2022). "Where are they now? FOX45 looks at the 8 former officers of the Gun Trace Task Force". Fox Baltimore.
  4. ^ Fenton, Justin (2021). We Own This City: A True Story of Crime, Cops, and Corruption. London: Faber & Faber Limited. ISBN 978-0-5713-5663-8 – via Open Library.
  5. ^ Campbell, Karen (November 17, 2017). "Detective Sean Suiter Had A 'Great Spirit' About Him, Friends, Colleagues Say". WBAL. Retrieved 2022-06-02.
  6. ^ Madden, Mary Rose (2017-11-29). "Det. Suiter remembered as a hero at funeral". WYPR. Retrieved 2022-06-03.
  7. ^ McFadden, David. "Slain Baltimore Det. Sean Suiter allegedly duped by fellow officer who planted heroin". York Daily Record. Retrieved 2022-06-02.
  8. ^ Schuppe, Jon (6 February 2018). "Disgraced Baltimore officer says detective slain before testifying was also corrupt". NBC News. Retrieved 2022-06-02.
  9. ^ "Test of Suiter". WMAR. 2018-08-28. Retrieved 2022-06-03.
  10. ^ Miller, Jayne (2018-09-07). "Board report released, concluding Suiter took his own life". WBAL. Retrieved 2022-06-02.
  11. ^ Fenton, Justin (27 August 2018). "Panel finds Baltimore police detective's death was probably suicide, not murder, attorney for widow says". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 29 August 2018. Retrieved 2022-06-02.
  12. ^ Independent Review Board (2018-08-27). "Suiter Report" (PDF). Report to the Commissioner of the Police Department of Baltimore City Concerning an Independent Review of the November 15, 2017 Incident and Its Aftermath.
  13. ^ Schager, Nick (2021-12-07). "He Was Testifying Against Fellow Cops. They Found Him Dead". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2022-06-02.
  14. ^ Fenton, Justin (August 28, 2018). "Panel report: Baltimore Police Det. Suiter had 'every incentive' to make suicide appear to be murder". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2022-06-02.
  15. ^ "The trouble with calling Sean Suiter's death a suicide". The Baltimore Sun. 29 August 2018. Retrieved 2022-06-02.
  16. ^ Collins, David (2019-11-08). "New comments cast doubt on suicide finding in Suiter case". WBAL. Retrieved 2022-06-02. The State Medical Examiner's Office had already determined the death a homicide.
  17. ^ Fenton, Justin (October 28, 2020). "Widow of Sean Suiter reacts to workers' compensation settlement, says family still seeking justice". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2022-06-02.
  18. ^ Prudente, Tim (November 27, 2019). "Imprisoned Baltimore detective from the Gun Trace Task Force speculates about the death of Sean Suiter". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2022-06-02.
  19. ^ Berinato, Chris (June 8, 2021). "Lawsuit over Harlem Park lockdown after Det. Suiter's death settled". Fox Baltimore.
  20. ^ "Homicide of Baltimore Det. Sean Suiter won't be handled by FBI". York Daily Record. Associated Press. Retrieved 2022-06-02.
  21. ^ High, Kamau (April 25, 2022). "Jon Bernthal channels former Baltimore police sergeant as HBO's 'We Own This City' re-creates rise and fall of GTTF". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2022-06-02.
  22. ^ Simons, Roxy (2022-05-30). "What have people said about Sean Suiter's death?". Newsweek. Retrieved 2022-06-02.
  23. ^ Pryor, Rebecca (2022-05-31). "'It's incredibly hurtful:' Suiter's friends, family react to finale of 'We Own This City'". Fox Baltimore. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  24. ^ "Det. Sean Suiter's Widow Thinks His Death Was An 'Inside Job'; Doesn't Believe Suicide Theory". CBS Baltimore. 2019-05-01. Retrieved 2022-06-02.
  25. ^ Simon, David (2022-06-09). "Sean Suiter". DavidSimon.Com. Archived from the original on 2022-06-17.
  26. ^ "Baltimore settles Harlem Park lockdown suit with money, an apology and a promise to change". Baltimore Brew. Retrieved 2022-06-03.
  27. ^ "Baltimore settles lawsuit filed by Harlem Park residents over police lockdown after Det. Suiter's shooting death". The Baltimore Sun. 8 June 2021. Retrieved 2022-06-02.
  28. ^ ACLU Maryland. "Apology" (PDF).
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