On May 31, 2018, police officers in Baltimore, Maryland received a report that a man was involved in possibly illegal activity involving a gun in the city’s Woodbourne Heights neighborhood north of downtown. When officers arrived, they arrested 23-year-old Yusuf Smith, whom they said had tossed a weapon before running from the police.
The court records have been expunged, but according to documents from the State Attorney’s Office for the City of Baltimore, Smith was charged with a weapons violation. His case quickly went to trial in Baltimore City District Court. Officer Michael O’Sullivan testified at the bench trial that he saw Smith reach for his waistline and toss the gun, which was later found on the ground.
Smith was convicted on June 4, 2018 and sent to the city’s jail. Information about his sentence isn’t available. But after Smith’s conviction, investigators examined the footage from O’Sullivan’s body camera and found that the officer could not have seen what he had testified to.
Smith’s conviction was overturned and his charges dismissed on July 12, 2018.
In 2019, O’Sullivan was convicted at a bench trial of perjury and misconduct in office. He received a sentence of 15 months in prison.
Smith filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit against O'Sullivan and the city of Baltimore, which he settled in January 2021 for $100,000.
– Ken Otterbourg
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