Pubdate: Fri, 26 Jan 2001
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 2001 The Washington Post Company
Contact:  1150 15th Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20071
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Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Author: Maureen O'Hagan, Washington Post Staff Writer

CHARGES DROPPED, OFFICER HOPES TO REGAIN JOB

A Baltimore police officer who was snagged in a sting by his own department 
but escaped prosecution when evidence against him was tampered with 
proclaimed his innocence yesterday and his hopes of returning to work.

"Absolutely, I am innocent," said Brian Sewell, 31, a six-year veteran of 
the city's police force who has been on suspension with pay. "I did not do 
what they said I did."

In September, Baltimore police announced that Sewell had been caught in 
what's known as a random integrity sting: Officers placed a bag of what 
looked like drugs on a park bench and waited to see what fellow officers 
would do. Authorities said Sewell picked up the bag, arrested a suspect two 
blocks away and said in a police report that he saw the suspect place the 
bag on the bench.

Sewell faced charges of perjury and misconduct until Wednesday, when 
State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy announced that she had no choice but 
to drop the case because of a break-in at the police Integrity Unit 
headquarters -- a location secret even to top police commanders and 
protected by fences, locks and a burglar alarm.

Files relating to Sewell's case were among those tampered with, Jessamy 
said, and two officers within the unit fared poorly when questioned about 
the crime in a polygraph, casting suspicion on them. Also, police had not 
given the prosecutor all photographs taken on the day of the sting, a fact 
the defense seized upon, she said.

Jessamy did say in a statement, though, that "this office believes that 
Officer Sewell committed the crimes" with which he was charged.

The police department still plans to pursue internal misconduct charges 
against Sewell and use testimony by the officers who conducted the sting, 
said Sean Malone, the department's chief legal counsel.

"We're disappointed that it's not going forward in the criminal venue," 
Malone said. "Every criminal case has inherent flaws, and we're confident 
[the prosecutor] could have overcome them. I think it's a solid case. But 
we respect [Jessamy's] decision."

Sewell's case marked the department's first arrest in an integrity sting, 
which Commissioner Edward T. Norris began after citizens complained to him 
of abuses. The dropped charges leave police and prosecutors questioning the 
handling of the case and raise doubts about the Integrity Unit itself.

Yesterday, Sewell, surrounded by three attorneys, would not elaborate on 
his claim of innocence, but he did say that the state's attorney's office 
"played by . . . a separate set of rules" in its handling of the case.

Attorney Henry L. Belsky said the prosecutor failed to turn over 
photographs of the sting and tapes of police calls that he says would have 
exonerated his client. "If you have a great case, you put the facts out on 
the table," he said.

Jessamy did not respond to two phone messages left yesterday.

Malone called Belsky's accusations "red herrings," noting that the alleged 
missing evidence consisted of such things as photographs of an empty park 
bench.

"That's smoke that defense attorneys like Mr. Belsky are paid to raise," he 
said.
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