Police officer goes against his colleagues in courtroom

By calling an arrest report false, a Baltimore police officer could help a convicted drug dealer he says he’s known since he was 11.

Antonio Green, assigned to the department’s violent crime impact division, testified on the defense’s behalf during an appeal hearing that cocaine found in Richard Morris’ car was hidden under a seat, not “in plain view,” as the arrest report says. Green also said that Morris didn’t claim to own the drugs, despite what the report says.

Morris’ attorney argues that the drugs weren’t found legally and shouldn’t be allowed as evidence.

Green saw the arrest while serving backup. The police department is investigating how the defense knew to use him as a witness.

“That is quite extraordinary,” said Louis Michael Seidmann, a Georgetown University law professor. “Sometimes officers will contradict each other. But I’ve never heard an officer testify for the defense at a suppression hearing.”

— The Sun