Something must have kept Michael Wood Jr. up at night – perhaps what he witnessed when he was a part of the Baltimore Police Department.
Was his Twitter tirade more of a confession or blowing the whistle on corruption he witnessed in the department? He blew the lid on illegal searches, beatings and even more sordid things like defecating and urinating on suspects’ beds.
And now that he has let it all rip, will any of the victims of such corruption get any resolution?
According to Huffington Post, a current Baltimore Police Department spokesperson confirmed that Wood left the force in 2014. Wood places the responsibility for the Baltimore riots following April’s brutal killing of Freddie Grey, solely on the BPD.
His Tweets are of the “screw it-here goes….” variety and as you might imagine, have garnered him some big-time interviews of his choosing – not so much with local stations. He is not too unlike the newscaster from Network who has nothing left to lose by honest conversation.
As for the “brave” outlets clamoring him for interviews – either the mainstream is desperate to get viewers back or it is just so rare to see someone chuck caution to the wind and do the right thing. But of course, his account has also been blown up with heavy criticism and viciousness.
What do you think? He doesn’t show signs of stopping.
So here we go. I’m going to start Tweeting the things I’ve seen & participated in, in policing that is corrupt, intentional or not.
— Michael A. Wood Jr. (@MichaelAWoodJr) June 24, 2015
A detective slapping a completely innocent female in the face for bumping into him, coming out of a corner chicken store.
— Michael A. Wood Jr. (@MichaelAWoodJr) June 24, 2015
Punting a handcuffed, face down, suspect in the face, after a foot chase. My handcuffs, not my boot or suspect
— Michael A. Wood Jr. (@MichaelAWoodJr) June 24, 2015
CCTV cameras turning as soon as a suspect is close to caught.
— Michael A. Wood Jr. (@MichaelAWoodJr) June 24, 2015
Pissing and shitting inside suspects homes during raids, on their beds and clothes.
— Michael A. Wood Jr. (@MichaelAWoodJr) June 24, 2015
Swearing in court and PC docs that suspect dropped CDS during unbroken visual pursuit when neither was true.
— Michael A. Wood Jr. (@MichaelAWoodJr) June 24, 2015
Jacking up and illegally searching thousands of people with no legal justification
— Michael A. Wood Jr. (@MichaelAWoodJr) June 24, 2015
Having other people write PC statements, who were never there because they could twist it into legality.
— Michael A. Wood Jr. (@MichaelAWoodJr) June 24, 2015
Summonsing officers who weren’t there so they could collect the overtime.
— Michael A. Wood Jr. (@MichaelAWoodJr) June 24, 2015
Targeting 16-24 year old black males essentially because we arrest them more, perpetrating the circle of arresting them more.
— Michael A. Wood Jr. (@MichaelAWoodJr) June 24, 2015
I’ll do some each day so that we have time for ?s, reflections, and improvement inbetween. The light of transparency will clean us up.
— Michael A. Wood Jr. (@MichaelAWoodJr) June 24, 2015
If you listen to my interview http://t.co/rOjnxpKnzY and review my timeline, go way back, you’ll get a lot more details.
— Michael A. Wood Jr. (@MichaelAWoodJr) June 24, 2015
Most of this isn’t new. A google search will show, I’ve been speaking for awhile http://t.co/lT00Rvd91K @BaltoSpectator
— Michael A. Wood Jr. (@MichaelAWoodJr) June 24, 2015
If internal investigations were transparent, you would be able to see it all. The records are there.
— Michael A. Wood Jr. (@MichaelAWoodJr) June 24, 2015
What’s really hard to convey is that some things are so common place, they didn’t register until I was on the other side.
— Michael A. Wood Jr. (@MichaelAWoodJr) June 24, 2015
I don’t remember details of any particular person getting illegally searched, it was every day.
— Michael A. Wood Jr. (@MichaelAWoodJr) June 24, 2015
I’m one person relying on a flawed memory system. This is an indictment on the culture of the profession, not a witch-hunt. Sorry.
— Michael A. Wood Jr. (@MichaelAWoodJr) June 24, 2015
These things happen(ed), now how do we fix it? We need police. Let’s figure out how to do it right. The starting line is marked “Empathy”
— Michael A. Wood Jr. (@MichaelAWoodJr) June 24, 2015
It doesn’t matter whether anyone believes me or not Don’t rely on arguments from authority. What matters? That future training prevents this
— Michael A. Wood Jr. (@MichaelAWoodJr) June 24, 2015
Every person in low income, especially minorities, knows all of this already. I’m not revealing anything at all, just confirming.
— Michael A. Wood Jr. (@MichaelAWoodJr) June 24, 2015
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