Three Baltimore Police Officers Indicted in Kidnapping of Michael Brian Johnson Jr. & another Teen in 2009

Three Baltimore police officers indicted on charges of kidnapping Michael Brian Johnson Jr., and another West Baltimore teen in 2009.

Three Baltimore police officers, Tyrone S. Francis, 29, Gregory Hellen, 30, and Milton G. Smith III, 32, were indicted Tuesday on charges that they kidnapped Michael Brian Johnson Jr. and another West Baltimore teen last year, leaving one in a Howard County state park without shoes, socks or his cell phone, according to the Baltimore Sun. The three were hit with a litany of charges, including kidnapping, false imprisonment, second-degree assault and misconduct in office, among other charges.

The indictment came exactly a year after Michael Brian Johnson Jr. said he was picked up by the three officers and abandoned in Patapsco State Park. The incident prompted a call from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People for criminal charges against police, and the teen and his family filed a multi-million lawsuit against the officers in March.

They will be suspended without pay, said police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi. The officers, who had been members of the Violent Crimes Impact Section, which patrols high-crime areas, were reassigned after the incident and had been performing administrative duties.

I can empathize with police officers and the risks they face everyday protecting the communities in which they serve, but to deliberately engage in criminal behavior is reprehensible. Incidents of excessive force and misconduct by police officers should not be tolerated and indictments should be brought against any officer accused as such.

Read more:  City officers indicted in teens' kidnapping | Baltimore Sun