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.
Michael Wood gave a no-holds barred look at his career in a previous radio interview, but his tweets gained traction for their brazen admissions that officers lied to get overtime, illegally searched "thousands of people" and committed gross acts during raids, like urinating and defecating on suspects' beds.
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
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
A spokesman for the Baltimore Police Department confirmed that Wood left the force in 2014. In subsequent tweets, Wood promised to reveal more and expressed surprise at the attention paid to his commentary.
After Freddie Gray died in April from a spinal cord injury he sustained while in police custody, thousands in Baltimore protested against police brutality. Wood told the Secular News Network in May that the "BPD started the riots."
In that interview, Wood, who is white, said that Gray's death clearly showed that officers treat black and white people differently.
“The officers don’t see it as being so egregious, because people like Freddie Gray are so ingrained as 'thems,'" he said. Officers said they arrested Gray for carrying a switchblade, but the city's chief prosecutor, Marilyn Mosby, ruled it was a legal knife.
“Even if the police feel as though they did nothing wrong. How many residents were arrested in the white neighborhoods with spring-assisted pocket knives?" Wood said to SNN. "I have a suspicion that the number is right around zero."
Wood did not respond to requests for comment.
UPDATE: On Thursday, June 25, Detective Rashawn Strong, a spokesperson with the Baltimore Police Department, responded by email to HuffPost's inquiries about Wood's allegations.
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.
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