I'm in a Criminal Procedure Class right now and the professor (a former Kings County DA) said nobody is allowed to talk about the case until they've read the entire indictment and compared with relevant MD law on the matter. Smart move on his part because people stopped saying ignorant things in. re. both sides of the argument. I sat down one evening and went through it, and did some research.

I'm totally fine with indictments against driver and his riding partner. I personally hope they don't go to jail behind this corner shitbag and roll the dice at trial. However the law is the law, and as they say on The Wire "if you play in the dirt, you get dirty". The duty Lieutenant and Sergeant don't seem to be guilty of anything, however. I guess as superior officers there is some sort of supervisory responsibility. Should be handled within the department's discipline and not criminally. The "misconduct" charge is a pretty broad "catch-all" that many departments have on their books so they can get a guy when nothing else applies. Kind of like wire/ mail fraud in many mob cases. I don't have access to Baltimore civil service manual so I can't speak specifically on this.

However, to respond to the comment about IAD, in my experience this couldn't be further from the truth. Most IAD cops (I've worked with them in multiple jurisdictions) aggressively pursue bad eggs in their department. They'll only go light on complaints where the issue at bar is either a bullshit complaint, the violation was minor or devoid of any malice. It is often a sought after unit and they take their job seriously. Maybe you have different experience with IA.

Last note, I think that this prosecutor had no choice but to indict these guys. Her husband is a councilman of a black district. Constituents would be calling for both of their heads had she found "no true bill". This is an ugly one, and I want to let the facts play out in court rather than rush to judgment or rush to defend a situation as I hear "facts" from sources like Nancy Grace. I hope some people on here follow the trial as I look forward to discussing it!