Death of Sean Suiter

{{Short description|Baltimore police detective}} {{Infobox police officer | name = Sean Suiter | image =  | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|1974|10|6}} | birth_place = [[Washington, D.C.]], U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2017|11|16|1974|10|6}} | death_place = [[Baltimore]], [[Maryland]], U.S. | nationality = | other_names = | rank = Sworn in as an officer - 1999<br />[[Detective]] | service_years = 1999-2017 | service = | allegiance = | department = [[Baltimore Police Department]] | alma_mater = [[McKinley Technology High School]] | module = {{Infobox military person |embed = yes |allegiance= United States |branch= [[United States Army]] |service_years= |rank= |unit= |battles=[[Iraq War]] |awards= }} }} On November 16, 2017, '''Sean Suiter''' (born October 6, 1974), a homicide detective with the [[Baltimore Police Department]] (BPD), was found dead with a shot in the head, a day before he was scheduled to give testimony in front of a federal [[grand jury]] concerning [[police corruption]] related to the [[Gun Trace Task Force]] scandal.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Who is Detective Sean Suiter? Baltimore officer whose death remains unsolved comes up in gun task force trial |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-ci-who-is-suiter-20180205-story.html |access-date=2022-06-02 |website=The Baltimore Sun|date=5 February 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Fenton |first=Justin |date=2 May 2019 |title=Family of Baltimore Detective Suiter alleges killing was an 'inside job' |language=en-US |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/family-of-baltimore-detective-suiter-alleges-killing-was-an-inside-job/2019/05/02/bee1210a-6cf5-11e9-be3a-33217240a539_story.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=2022-06-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190504144658/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/family-of-baltimore-detective-suiter-alleges-killing-was-an-inside-job/2019/05/02/bee1210a-6cf5-11e9-be3a-33217240a539_story.html |archive-date=4 May 2019 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Orman |first=Shelley |date=April 28, 2022 |title=Where are they now? FOX45 looks at the 8 former officers of the Gun Trace Task Force |work=Fox Baltimore |url=https://foxbaltimore.com/news/gun-trace-task-force/where-are-they-now-fox45-looks-at-the-8-former-officers-of-the-gun-trace-task-force}}</ref>

== Career and background == Suiter, 43, was an 18-year veteran of the Baltimore Police Department, and a [[United States Army]] veteran of the [[Iraq War]].<ref name="Fenton">{{Cite book |first=Justin |last=Fenton |author-link=Justin Fenton |title=We Own This City: A True Story of Crime, Cops, and Corruption |publisher=[[Faber & Faber Limited]] |location=London |year=2021 |isbn=978-0-5713-5663-8 |url=https://openlibrary.org/books/OL37312614M/We_Own_This_City |via=[[Open Library]]}}</ref> Colleagues have said Suiter was "an honest and beloved cop"; a neighbor described Suiter saying, "He was pleasant; had a smile on his face all the time. He looks young ... looks vibrant and has a great spirit about him."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Campbell |first=Karen |date=November 17, 2017 |title=Detective Sean Suiter Had A 'Great Spirit' About Him, Friends, Colleagues Say |url=https://www.wbal.com/article/277296/3/detective-sean-suiter-had-a-great-spirit-about-him-friends-colleagues-say |access-date=2022-06-02 |publisher=WBAL |language=en}}</ref> Suiter was given a hero's funeral and praised for his work as an officer.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Madden |first=Mary Rose |date=2017-11-29 |title=Det. Suiter remembered as a hero at funeral |url=https://www.wypr.org/wypr-news/2017-11-29/det-suiter-remembered-as-a-hero-at-funeral |access-date=2022-06-03 |publisher=WYPR |language=en}}</ref> Former Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said Suiter was not a target of the federal investigation around the Gun Trace Task Force. Suiter however, was connected earlier in his career to several members of the corrupt Gun Trace Task Force including Sgt. [[Wayne Jenkins (police officer)|Wayne Jenkins]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=McFadden |first=David |title=Slain Baltimore Det. Sean Suiter allegedly duped by fellow officer who planted heroin |url=https://www.ydr.com/story/news/crime/2017/11/30/slain-baltimore-det-sean-suiter-allegedly-duped-former-cop-who-planted-drugs/910775001/ |access-date=2022-06-02 |website=York Daily Record |language=en-US}}</ref> Detective Maurice Ward, and Detective Momodu Gondo, who each later pled guilty in the racketeering case.<ref name=":0" /> Gondo, a disgraced former detective, also told a jury that Suiter was corrupt and that they stole money together.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schuppe |first=Jon |date=6 February 2018 |title=Disgraced Baltimore officer says detective slain before testifying was also corrupt |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/disgraced-baltimore-police-officer-says-detective-who-was-killed-testifying-n844831 |access-date=2022-06-02 |publisher=NBC News |language=en}}</ref>

== Death == [[File:Farewell7.SeanSuiter.BaltimoreMD.29November2017 (38704417732).jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|The funeral for Sean Suiter. From left to right, Governor [[Larry Hogan]], Mayor [[Catherine Pugh]], and police commissioner [[Kevin Davis (police officer)|Kevin Davis]] are in attendance.]] Suiter was investigating a triple homicide that occurred a year earlier, when the shooting occurred near 959 Bennett Place, in Baltimore, Maryland. He was shot in the head at close range with his own service weapon, which was recovered under his body. Blood was found on the inside of Suiter's shirt sleeve. Suiter's DNA was found inside the barrel of his own Glock.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-08-28 |title=Test of Suiter |url=https://www.wmar2news.com/longform/test-of-suiter |access-date=2022-06-03 |publisher=WMAR |language=en}}</ref> His death remains unsolved despite a $215,000 reward. Members of an outside review board<ref>{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Jayne |date=2018-09-07 |title=Board report released, concluding Suiter took his own life |url=https://www.wbaltv.com/article/i-team-source-board-concludes-suiter-took-his-own-life-with-his-service-weapon/22834305 |access-date=2022-06-02 |publisher=WBAL |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Fenton |first=Justin |date=27 August 2018 |title=Panel finds Baltimore police detective's death was probably suicide, not murder, attorney for widow says |language=en-US |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/panel-finds-baltimore-police-detectives-death-was-probably-suicide-not-murder-attorney-for-widow-says/2018/08/27/4567f822-aa3a-11e8-a8d7-0f63ab8b1370_story.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=2022-06-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180829121040/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/panel-finds-baltimore-police-detectives-death-was-probably-suicide-not-murder-attorney-for-widow-says/2018/08/27/4567f822-aa3a-11e8-a8d7-0f63ab8b1370_story.html |archive-date=29 August 2018 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> released a 207-page report<ref>{{Cite news |last=Independent Review Board |date=2018-08-27 |title=Suiter Report |work=Report to the Commissioner of the Police Department of Baltimore City Concerning an Independent Review of the November 15, 2017 Incident and Its Aftermath |url=https://www.baltimorepolice.org/sites/default/files/General%20Website%20PDFs/Suiter%20Report%20Public.pdf}}</ref> and concluded that Suiter was not murdered but [[Suicide|took his own life]] because he was due to testify before a grand jury the next day and staged his death to appear like a murder so his family could receive line of duty benefits in case he lost his job as a result of incriminating details coming to light from the grand jury testimony. The review board argued that Suiter was under duress about potentially being tied to corruption through the Gun Trace Task Force case, and had "every incentive" to make his suicide appear to be a murder.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Schager |first=Nick |date=2021-12-07 |title=He Was Testifying Against Fellow Cops. They Found Him Dead. |language=en |work=The Daily Beast |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/sean-suiter-was-about-to-testify-against-his-fellow-baltimore-cops-then-he-wound-up-dead |access-date=2022-06-02}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Fenton |first=Justin |date=August 28, 2018 |title=Panel report: Baltimore Police Det. Suiter had 'every incentive' to make suicide appear to be murder |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-ci-suiter-irb-report-release-20180828-story.html |access-date=2022-06-02 |website=The Baltimore Sun}}</ref> The ''[[The Baltimore Sun|Baltimore Sun]]'' Editorial Board published a detailed article arguing why the theory that Suiter was murdered was implausible. They concluded by stating: "We have no idea who killed Sean Suiter. Each explanation is as implausible as the next."<ref>{{Cite web |title=The trouble with calling Sean Suiter's death a suicide |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/opinion/editorial/bs-ed-0830-suiter-20180829-story.html |access-date=2022-06-02 |website=The Baltimore Sun|date=29 August 2018 }}</ref>

City officials, however, have been split about the case. The medical examiner ruled that his death was a homicide.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Collins |first=David |date=2019-11-08 |title=New comments cast doubt on suicide finding in Suiter case |url=https://www.wbaltv.com/article/medical-examiner-baltimore-prosecutor-comments-cast-doubt-on-suicide-finding-in-sean-suiter-case/29727896 |access-date=2022-06-02 |publisher=WBAL |language=en |quote=The State Medical Examiner's Office had already determined the death a homicide.}}</ref> In 2020, Baltimore City made a decision to award $900,000 in [[Workers' compensation (United States)|workers' compensation]] benefits to Suiter's widow Nicole Suiter. Nicole Suiter claimed that the fact that she received this workers' compensation payment is an implicit admission by the city that Suiter was indeed murdered and did not commit suicide, as "You do not win workers' compensation cases unless you are injured, hurt or killed on the job."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fenton |first=Justin |date=October 28, 2020 |title=Widow of Sean Suiter reacts to workers' compensation settlement, says family still seeking justice |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-ci-cr-suiter-workers-compensation-approved-20201028-63tdbtjdevhrhnpfszupirbn2u-story.html |access-date=2022-06-02 |website=The Baltimore Sun}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Prudente |first=Tim |date=November 27, 2019 |title=Imprisoned Baltimore detective from the Gun Trace Task Force speculates about the death of Sean Suiter |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-ci-cr-hersl-jailhouse-letter-20191127-3pzza4dkh5hlfmo42abvf4ceaq-story.html |access-date=2022-06-02 |website=The Baltimore Sun}}</ref>

Kevin Davis, the Baltimore Police Commissioner at the time, believed that Suiter was murdered.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Berinato |first=Chris |date=June 8, 2021 |title=Lawsuit over Harlem Park lockdown after Det. Suiter's death settled |work=Fox Baltimore |url=https://foxbaltimore.com/news/local/lawsuit-over-harlem-park-lockdown-after-det-suiter-death-settled}}</ref> He asked the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] to take over the investigation into Suiter's death. However, the FBI declined, saying it had no evidence to suggest Suiter's death was "directly connected" to the corruption probe or any other federal case.<ref>{{Cite web |agency=Associated Press |title=Homicide of Baltimore Det. Sean Suiter won't be handled by FBI |url=https://www.ydr.com/story/news/2017/12/27/homicide-baltimore-det-sean-suiter-wont-handled-fbi/985107001/ |access-date=2022-06-02 |website=York Daily Record |language=en-US}}</ref>

The controversy around Suiter's death was once again brought to public attention with [[HBO]]'s release of ''[[We Own This City]]'', a portrayal of the Gun Trace Task Force scandal.<ref>{{Cite web |last=High |first=Kamau |date=April 25, 2022 |title=Jon Bernthal channels former Baltimore police sergeant as HBO's 'We Own This City' re-creates rise and fall of GTTF |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/arts/bs-fe-hbo-we-own-this-city-premiere-20220425-2pn7tmgt4ffmxhylcu3a4i2oxq-story.html |access-date=2022-06-02 |website=The Baltimore Sun}}</ref> The show depicted Suiter staging his suicide to appear like a murder.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Simons |first=Roxy |date=2022-05-30 |title=What have people said about Sean Suiter's death? |url=https://www.newsweek.com/we-own-this-city-sean-suiter-death-homicide-suicide-david-simon-jamie-hector-interview-1711268 |access-date=2022-06-02 |website=Newsweek |language=en}}</ref> The show also insinuated that Suiter took his own life because he was afraid of being implicated by his own grand jury testimony. This aroused much anger from Suiter's friends and family who did not believe it was a suicide.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pryor |first=Rebecca |date=2022-05-31 |title='It's incredibly hurtful:' Suiter's friends, family react to finale of 'We Own This City' |work=Fox Baltimore |url=https://foxbaltimore.com/news/local/its-incredibly-hurtful-sean-suiters-friends-family-react-to-we-own-the-citys-finale |access-date=2022-06-01}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-05-01 |title=Det. Sean Suiter's Widow Thinks His Death Was An 'Inside Job'; Doesn't Believe Suicide Theory |url=https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2019/05/01/sean-suiter-death-investigation-family-wants-answers-baltimore/ |publisher=CBS Baltimore |access-date=2022-06-02 |language=en-US}}</ref> [[David Simon]] published a rebuttal defending the show's depiction of the events.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Simon|first=David|date=2022-06-09|title=Sean Suiter|website=DavidSimon.Com|url=https://davidsimon.com/sean-suiter/|archive-date=2022-06-17|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220617170512/https://davidsimon.com/sean-suiter/|language=en-US}}</ref>

== Closing of Harlem Park neighborhood == After Suiter was found shot, police cordoned off and put the [[Harlem Park, Baltimore|Harlem Park]] neighborhood on lockdown for six days. The area included 100 houses, a church and two stores. Described as akin to [[martial law]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Baltimore settles Harlem Park lockdown suit with money, an apology and a promise to change |url=https://www.baltimorebrew.com/2021/06/28/baltimore-settles-harlem-park-lockdown-suit-with-money-an-apology-and-a-promise-to-change/ |access-date=2022-06-03 |website=Baltimore Brew |language=en-us}}</ref> officers positioned around the area's perimeter stopped residents, asking them for identification and preventing them from entering their own homes without identification. Members of the community later sued the city for the lockdown alleging that the city violated residents' constitutional rights. The Baltimore Police Department paid $96,000 to settle the suit<ref>{{Cite web |title=Baltimore settles lawsuit filed by Harlem Park residents over police lockdown after Det. Suiter's shooting death |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-prem-md-ci-cr-harlem-park-lawsuit-settled-20210608-opo7pvtvgnf3foq7yzwbjby3x4-story.html |access-date=2022-06-02 |website=The Baltimore Sun|date=8 June 2021 }}</ref> and issued a formal apology.<ref>{{Cite web |last=ACLU Maryland |title=Apology |url=https://www.aclu-md.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/20210609_apology_final.pdf}}</ref>

== Popular culture == Suiter has been the focus of several media and popular culture works: * {{Cite book |first=Justin |last=Fenton |author-link=Justin Fenton |title=We Own This City: A True Story of Crime, Cops, and Corruption |publisher=[[Faber & Faber Limited]] |location=London |year=2021 |isbn=978-0-5713-5663-8 |url=https://openlibrary.org/books/OL37312614M/We_Own_This_City}} * ''The Slow Hustle'' (HBO, 2021) - a documentary from director [[Sonja Sohn]] * ''[[We Own This City]]'' (HBO, 2022) - a miniseries based on Fenton's book. Suiter was played by [[Jamie Hector]]

==See also== *[[List of unsolved deaths]]

==References== {{reflist}}

[[Category:Deaths by firearm in Maryland]] [[Category:Unsolved deaths in Maryland]]