Michael Wood: Baltimore Police Assume Inner Cities Are ‘The Enemy’

According to ex-cop Michael Wood, Baltimore police assume the people living within inner cities are “the enemy,” and this is a major factor for why police abuse is running rampant. But some say the way in which Wood chose to attack the issue is useless since he is no longer with the police department.

In a related report by the Inquisitr, Michael A. Wood Jr. is a retired U.S. Marine who served with the Baltimore police force for more than than 10 years. He has been recently doing interviews with multiple media outlets, and he has also been describing events on Twitter which he claims to have witnessed.

Here is a sample of some of Michael Wood’s Twitter activity.

“A detective slapping a completely innocent female in the face for bumping into him, coming out of a corner chicken store.”

“Targeting 16-24 year old black males essentially because we arrest them more, perpetrating [sic] the circle of arresting them more.”

“Jacking up and illegally searching thousands of people with no legal justification”

“Having other people write PC statements, who were never there because they could twist it into legality.”

“Summonsing officers who weren’t there so they could collect the overtime.”

“P**sing and sh—ing inside suspects homes during raids, on their beds and clothes.”

Wood admits that these allegations are based upon a “flawed memory system,” and he claims this is an “indictment on the culture of the profession, not a witch hunt.” For example, when Wood spoke to the Washington Post, he described the mentality of the police force.

“I grew up in Bel Air[, Maryland]. I didn’t have exposure to inner cities. And when you work in policing, you’re inundated early on with the ‘us vs. them’ mentality. It’s ingrained in you that this is a war, and if someone isn’t wearing a uniform, they’re the enemy,” explained Wood. “It just becomes part of who you are, of how you do your job. And when all you’re doing is responding to calls, you’re only seeing the people in these neighborhoods when there’s conflict. So you start to assume that conflict is all there is. Just bad people doing bad things.”

Wood believes this police culture is everywhere in America, from Baltimore to Ferguson. The ex-cop also spoke up on issues related to policing in general, not just the Baltimore police. Wood says he is “100 percent against the drug way” since he believes the narcotics divisions can be “completely dehumanizing.” He also noted that cops will mistreat other cops but “reporting that sort of thing won’t get you into trouble. It’s reporting the external stuff that will end your career. Again, it’s the us vs. them problem.”

In a report by Atlanta Black Star, the allegations of Michael Wood were compared to Frank Serpico, who raised the issue of corruption in the New York Police Department in the 1960s and 1970s.

“The problem is that the atmosphere does not yet exist… in which an honest police officer can act… without fear of ridicule or reprisal from fellow officers. Police corruption cannot exist unless it is at least tolerated… at higher levels in the department,” Serpico testified.

Responding to the allegations made by Michael Wood, Baltimore police have released a statement claiming they will investigate any reports of abuse by police officers.

“The recent allegations made by Mr. Michael Wood are serious and very troubling. The Police Commissioner has made clear that the Baltimore Police Department will never tolerate malicious conduct. We hope that during his time as both a sworn member and as a sergeant with supervisory obligations, that Mr. Wood reported these disturbing allegations at the time of their occurrence. If he did not, we strongly encourage him to do so now, so that our Internal Affairs Division can begin an immediate investigation. In a recently published letter to the Baltimore Sun, the Police Commissioner made clear that his reform efforts remain focused on rooting out the type of conduct that is alleged. We implore Mr. Wood or anyone else with knowledge of such acts to contact our Internal Affairs Division at 410-396-2300.”

Many on Twitter have also asked Wood to prove his allegations, and yesterday he responded by telling them to look into his history.

I don’t know why I even address this, but MD has a case judiciary website. My reports and arrests are all public record. Stop asking me.

— Michael A. Wood Jr. (@MichaelAWoodJr) June 27, 2015

What do you think about the allegations of ex-cop Michael Wood? Baltimore police seem to be responding, but do you think it will be enough?

[Image via Atlanta Black Star]