Weekend Buff

We Own This City (2022)

Shows and movies about police corruption can sometimes be hard to watch, often one sided, biased, and portraying cops as inherently bad. They also often portray the criminals that bad cops deal with as heroes; they usually are anything but. I sat down to watch the highly rated, We Own This City (2022) miniseries, expecting more of the same.

We Own This City is a six-episode dramatized review of the Baltimore Police’s Gun Trace Task Force scandal. It shows the police in the wake of the Freddie Gray death, and the bogus prosecution of all the cops involved by now disgraced Baltimore’s States Attorney Marilyn Mosby. The Gun Trace Task Force was a plainclothes unit who was assigned to reduce the epidemic of gun violence in the City of Baltimore. They made a lot of gun collars, but fell into illegal practices, and later downright corruption.

This series tells that story in straight-up-the-middle fashion that is entertaining and informative. It combines facts with drama and gets much of the story right. Yes, there is dramatization and some changes in the timeline, but overall, it is accurate.

They paint cops as individuals, showing that the descent of some cops into corruption, and the good cops that stay the course. The federal prosecutors who made the case against members of the Gun Trace Task Force as competent and diligent, but not heroic crusaders.

We Own This City is complex. It touches politics and the decisions that allowed corruption to grow. Decisions of police brass that encouraged or rewarded bad behavior, while not doing enough to prevent corruption are explained. It demonstrates how lack of support for the cops leads to tragic outcomes. That lack of support is on display with both the community and local politicians. The show also details the poor pay and poor working conditions that Baltimore City cops had to deal with.

The atmosphere is dead on. The show captures the feeling of a department stretched thin and under siege after the Freddie Gray death. You feel the fatigue in the roll-call rooms, the tension between the brass and the beat cops, the resentment that comes from doing a dangerous job in a city that doesn’t trust you anymore, the feeling of futility as arrests are dismissed and criminals go free. That is an atmosphere that has often bred corruption and misconduct in other departments as well.

The series is based on the book of the same name written by Baltimore Sun reporter Justin Fenton. It was directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green. John Bernthal plays Sergeant Wayne Jenkins, the head of the Gun Trace Task Force, and driving force behind much of the corruption. Other members of the Task Force are played by Josh Charles, McKinley Belcher, and Darrell Britt-Gibson. Delaney Williams plays the Baltimore Police Commissioner who was indifferent to the corruption. Wunmi Mosaku is the DOJ Civil Rights Attorney investigating the Gun Trace Task Force.

We Own This City’s episodes run an hour each. This is certainly not a feel-good story if you are a cop. It is a sad and frustrating tale that, unfortunately, many cops can relate to. Often cops feel the stress and futility of dealing with low pay, lack of support, and poor working conditions. Rarely do they turn to the corrupt practices that brought down the Gun Trace Task Force. It is a testament to the hard work and perseverance of most police officers.

Enjoy this well researched and well performed series that takes a look at police corruption from a whole of circumstances point of view instead of only vilifying cops.

Thanks for reading The Ops Desk. Stay Safe!