INDICTMENT OF OFFICER HURTS CASES

Charges Dropped Against Man Arrested By Sewell; Caught In Sting Operation;
Prosecutors And Public Defenders To Examine Record

Prosecutors threw out drug charges yesterday against a man who was
arrested by a Baltimore police officer under indictment on corruption
charges, setting free a defendant accused of drug distribution and
assault.

At least 20 people locked up by Officer Brian L. Sewell may see their
charges dropped.

The state's attorney's office said they will dismiss any case in which
Sewell is the primary arresting officer.

Sewell is scheduled to testify at court hearings on three consecutive
days next week, which is now impossible because of his indictment this
week on perjury and misconduct in office charges.

He is accused of falsely arresting a city resident on cocaine
charges.

"Obviously, we have to look at all his cases, and we will," said
Assistant State's Attorney Laura Mullally, chief of the District Court
Division.

Joyce Jefferson Daniels, a spokeswoman for the state's attorney's
office, said charges against Vernon Banks, 31, were dropped because of
Sewell's unavailability for a preliminary hearing and because a key
civilian witness "was adamant about not wanting to testify."

Sewell wrote in his police report that he arrested Banks on Sept. 3
after receiving a complaint about drug activity in the 1400 block of
Pennsylvania Ave.

He said he confiscated 46 vials of suspected crack cocaine, which he
said he saw the suspect hide behind a wall.

The dismissal of the Banks' case comes as the public defender's office
steps up its review of police reports.

Six years of cases

Baltimore Public Defender Elizabeth L. Julian said that her office
will examine six years of cases in which Sewell was the main officer.
She said attorneys will work throughout the weekend, tracking the
cases on court computers.

She said even minor convictions such as drug possession can hurt a
person's chances when applying for a job or trying to rent an apartment.

"We're very concerned about that because it has major ramifications on
someone's future," she said.

Julian said that attorneys in her office, who represent 80 percent of
the defendants in the city, have long had suspicions about police
impropriety.

She said that lawyers discovered about 15 charging documents this year
for fifteen different people with identical facts outlined.

"Fifteen people can't be doing the exact same thing," she said. "It's
not just evidence planting, it's bigger."

Due process

But Officer Gary McLhinney, president of the Fraternal Order of
Police, Lodge No. 3, which represents the city's 3,200 officers, urged
caution and said prosecutors should not drop cases Sewell is involved
in until his fate is decided.

"This officer is innocent until proven guilty," he said. "Where is the
sense of due process? We need to take a deep breath and sort this
thing out. I would hate to see the state's attorney start dropping
cases without knowing all the facts."

Officer John Pessia, who has worked with Sewell in the Central
District, defended his colleague.

"I have worked with Officer Sewell on numerous arrests, and I have
never witnessed anything below the highest form of integrity," he said
yesterday

Sewell, who declined to comment yesterday, was arrested
Wednesday.

Police said he was caught in a random sting and has been charged with
falsely arresting a city resident on cocaine charges.

Police Commissioner Edward T. Norris said Sewell arrested a burglary
suspect, identified as Frederick L. McCoy, and wrote in his report
that he saw the suspect put drugs on a park bench.

Norris said the drugs had been left on the bench by undercover
officers.

Police said charges filed against McCoy will be dropped.

In an unrelated matter, McCoy failed to appear at a court hearing
yesterday on a drug charge. A warrant was issued for his arrest.

Sewell's arrest has triggered a federal civil rights inquiry and calls
for a broader investigation by the U.S. Justice Department into
possible city police misconduct. Norris has said a probe is
unwarranted because it was his office that uncovered the alleged wrongdoing.

Norris used a speech to graduation of 25 police trainees yesterday to
talk about integrity.

He told the new officers that the department "has to have the support
of the public to do the right thing or we're not going to be
successful" in fighting crime. "How you treat people is how they are
going to judge us."