Posted on 02/08/23
| News Source: WMAR2NEWS
Baltimore City is on the verge of paying out a $6 million settlement related to the police department's defunct Gun Trace Task Force.
The lawsuit stemmed from an incident dating back to April 2010, when detectives chased a car with two men, Umar Burley and Brent Matthews, wanted for an alleged drug violation.
While fleeing police Burley sped through a stop sign colliding with another car occupied by Elbert Davis Sr. and Phosa Cain.
The crash left Davis dead and Cain, who has since died from unrelated causes, seriously injured. In 2013 Davis' family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Burley and obtained a more than $1 million judgement, which was ultimately paid for by the City.
That came about when Burley and Matthews sued the police department in 2018, alleging they were illegally arrested and falsely convicted in connection with that 2010 incident.
One officer involved at the time, Sergeant Wayne Jenkins, was later federally indicted and convicted on allegations that included falsifying documentation which also impacted the case against Burley.