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BALTIMORE (AP) — Body camera video belonging to a veteran city police sergeant charged with forcibly arresting someone without justification has revealed a pattern of similar abuses, Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced Thursday.
The suspended Sgt. Ethan Newberg, 49, has now been indicted on 32 additional counts of false imprisonment, assault and misconduct in office, she told reporters at a news conference. He surrendered to authorities that afternoon and was held without bond pending a Friday bail review hearing, Newburg's attorney, Joseph Murtha, said.
Newberg was arrested in June arrest on similar charges over the forcible arrest of 28-year-old Lee Dotson, who protested two officers forcing a man to sit on a wet bench. Police have said body camera video disproved Newberg's account of what happened, prompting a review of nearly a year of his body camera video.
The indictment alleges Newberg intentionally and unlawfully harassed, detained and assaulted citizens “engaged in lawful conduct for the improper purposes of dominating, intimidating and instilling fear" at least nine separate times between July 2018 and May 2019. The Washington Post reported that the encounters detailed in the indictment are nearly identical and involve Newberg “lording” over the area and questioning and restraining bystanders who happened to be near police interactions, such as arrests or traffic stops.
“I’m the sergeant they talk about, now you’ve met me. Sgt. Newberg. Now you know me,” Newberg is heard on video telling one detained bystander, according to the indictment. “Now we have an understanding, correct?”
Newberg repeatedly gave reasons for arrests or detentions, such as the incitement of a crowd, without any supporting evidence, according to the indictment.
Mosby says her office still is debating what to do with the arrests and convictions involving Newberg, who remains suspended with pay. He was paid the highest of any city employee for the fiscal year that ended in June, with his salary totaling more than $260,000 when accounting for overtime.
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