We Own This City

A True Story of Crime, Cops, and Corruption

By: Justin Fenton

Narrated by: Dion Graham

NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS’ CHOICE • The astonishing true story of “one of the most startling police corruption scandals in a generation” (The New York Times), from the Pulitzer Prize-nominated reporter who exposed a gang of criminal cops and their yearslong plunder of an American city

NOW AN HBO SERIES FROM THE WIRE CREATOR DAVID SIMON AND GEORGE PELECANOS

“A work of journalism that not only chronicles the rise and fall of a corrupt police unit but can stand as the inevitable coda to the half-century of disaster that is the American drug war.”—David Simon

Baltimore, 2015. Riots are erupting across the city as citizens demand justice for Freddie Gray, a twenty-five-year-old Black man who has died under suspicious circumstances while in police custody. Drug and violent crime are surging, and Baltimore will reach its highest murder count in more than two decades: 342 homicides in a single year, in a city of just 600,000 people. Facing pressure from the mayor’s office—as well as a federal investigation of the department over Gray’s death—Baltimore police commanders turn to a rank-and-file hero, Sergeant Wayne Jenkins, and his elite plainclothes unit, the Gun Trace Task Force, to help get guns and drugs off the street.

But behind these new efforts, a criminal conspiracy of unprecedented scale was unfolding within the police department. Entrusted with fixing the city’s drug and gun crisis, Jenkins chose to exploit it instead. With other members of the empowered Gun Trace Task Force, Jenkins stole from Baltimore’s citizens—skimming from drug busts, pocketing thousands in cash found in private homes, and planting fake evidence to throw Internal Affairs off their scent. Their brazen crime spree would go unchecked for years. The results were countless wrongful convictions, the death of an innocent civilian, and the mysterious death of one cop who was shot in the head, killed just a day before he was scheduled to testify against the unit.

In this urgent book, award-winning investigative journalist Justin Fenton distills hundreds of interviews, thousands of court documents, and countless hours of video footage to present the definitive account of the entire scandal. The result is an astounding, riveting feat of reportage about a rogue police unit, the city they held hostage, and the ongoing struggle between American law enforcement and the communities they are charged to serve.

©2021 Justin Fenton (P)2021 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Fenton populates his narrative with a network of officers, informants, and street dealers, all with different motivations and interests.... The overall effect is to capture the disorienting, churning quality of a city where the good guys and bad guys aren’t easily distinguished.... [Fenton] shows how, in our zeal to combat crime, we have allowed institutions to produce it.” (The New York Times Book Review)

“Baltimore’s grim realities have been mined by talented writers like D. Watkins, Wes Moore, and, most famously, celebrated author and TV producer David Simon, whose books and television series - Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets, The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood and The Wire - deftly illuminated Charm City’s complex web of problems. One could be excused for wondering whether there is any more to say about Baltimore and crime. But the gripping new book We Own This City: A True Story of Crime, Cops, and Corruption puts that concern to rest.” (The Washington Post)

“Fenton tells a story of bad people and bad attitudes.... His book reveals the way systemic discrimination operates, whom it affects and how it is sustained. His narrative is brisk and engaging.” (London Review of Books)

Fenton Uncovers the Horrors of GTTF

Justin Fenton does a remarkable job revealing the horrors inflicted by the GTTF in Baltimore. Now if we just knew the whole truth of all the officers involved I believe we would be truly shocked. How can the PD and the prosecutor's office let this go on and on and on without listening to the citizens and the defense attorneys who warned and continue to warn.

a true look into Baltimore and corruption

very well written and eye opening with details. helps you understand the issues and corruption within Baltimore. highly recommend this book. Justin took his time and did it right when writing it.

riveting!

the research and the way the author puts forth the story takes you inside

Layered tragedy

The author did an excellent job of contextualizing several different stories. The author showed how the stories were intertwined but also didn't do the intellectually lazy thing of saying one thing led to another. I really appreciated how the author did not try to make anyone solely a hero or solely a villain. They were simply human. I didn't want it to end because I know some of these story lines continue.

Sad that there are unlawful police, sad that is overlooked and allowed

I was unaware of this story, it is sad that police are allowed to act this way and say times even treated like heroes. I’m glad these guys got caught and hope good cops keep up their efforts!

A True Story of "Every City, USA".

Being a "Home Grown Baltimorean", it's a sad story", and unfortunately, it's one that I see as never ending. I am writing this review sitting outside the home I was born in right on the edge west Baltimore, where city meets county. My parents were only 1 of 2 families who did not succumb to the "White Flight" of the early 1970's on our block. I am a few blocks from the end rt.70 that was to link up to the "highway to nowhere", which butts up to the beautiful and infamous "Leakin Park". I don't understand why my city continually votes for "Home Grown" politicians, regardless of color, when it's so obvious that these individuals are bred to perpetuate more of the same. I was 10 y.o during the riots of 1968 and 58 y.o during the riots of 2015. This story is about any city and any town in the country; how different our country is, and how so much of it remains the same as 1968.

Captivating

I loved this book and it’s narration. Very detailed and thorough. I binged this book in two days. Every chance I got, I wanted to hear what happened next. Having seen a documentary relative to one of the situations mentioned (I won’t give it away), hearing more into it from the investigation side was truly satisfying. This is a must read/listen. I plan to also purchase a hard copy for my self. You won’t be disappointed with this one.

Excellent

I live in Baltimore, and I had forgotten many of the details of the story. What’s so amazing and scary is that it’s all true. The story was laid out well, and the performance was excellent. I highly recommend it.

Excellent story and a warning to all Americans.

This can happen anywhere, and in all likelihood IS happening EVERYWHERE. The legacy of modern American policing will ring through history as one of our starkest lessons. Hopefully we learn soon, so we can move on to something more evolved with more accountability.

Impressive narration; unparalleled reporting

Justin Fenton’s narrative of the players and events surrounding the evil corruption of Baltimore’s Gun Trace Task Force is as engrossing as it is horrifying. Fenton provides the perspective for readers, and Dion Graham provides narration that captures a very genuine and immersive tone. I’ll be thinking about this book for a very long time.