3 Officers Indicted In Teens' Kidnappings

[The Straight Story]

3 Officers Indicted In Teens' Kidnappings
Charges Stem From Incident Last May

Three Baltimore city police officers have been indicted on more than a dozen charges connected to the kidnapping of two 15-year-old boys.

Baltimore State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy said 14 court indictments charge the officers with kidnapping, false imprisonment and second-degree assault. The officers are also charged with misconduct in office.

The officers are 32-year-old Milton Smith, 29-year-old Tyrone Francis and 30-year-old Gregory Hellen. They were assigned to the violent crimes impact division.

Authorities said the three were working in west Baltimore on May 4, 2009. In separate incidents, they picked up two 15-year-olds and took them in a police van. They released one in east Baltimore and one in Howard County.

Michael Brian Johnson Jr. testified in court that he was outside a family member's west Baltimore home when officers ordered him inside a van, drove him to Howard County and left him at Patapsco State Park with no shoes, socks or cell phone.

"He snatched my socks off, then … opened the door and threw me out. Then they rolled out," Johnson said during an interview with 11 News last May.

http://www.wbaltv.com/news/23452037/detail.html

[Schema Thing]

1. heh, not that this is funny, but The Wire used this in a story line

I wonder which came first?

I'm sure it was a real incident before the Wire writers used it, but it may have been something fairly common.