Baltimore Sends 46 Plainclothes Officers to Patrol in Wake of Racketeering Indictments

The Baltimore Police Department has disbanded its primary plainclothes enforcement unit, sending 46 officers to patrol in the continued fallout from the federal racketeering indictment of a high-profile gun squad.

Officials made the change Tuesday evening. A copy of a personnel order obtained by The Baltimore Sun showed that three lieutenants, seven sergeants and 36 officers are being distributed throughout the patrol ranks. Police spokesman T.J. Smith confirmed the reassignments.

Last week, federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment charging members of another unit, the Gun Trace Task Force, with being part of a racketeering conspiracy. The officers are charged with robbing and extorting citizens, filing false affidavits and police reports, and applying for fraudulent overtime pay. All of the officers have pleaded not guilty.

Police Commissioner Kevin Davis promised changes in the department in the aftermath, saying there would be "a lot of reviews, a lot of investigations and a lot of audits" with regard to overtime pay and other areas, the Baltimore Sun reports.