BPD sergeant convicted of lying about attack captured on viral video
By: WMAR STAFF
BALTIMORE — A Baltimore Police sergeant has been convicted of giving a false statement and misconduct in office stemming from an incident in January 2020.
Welton Simpson Jr. initially reported walking into a store where he was pushed and spit on by a man named Zayne Abdullah.
Part of the incident was captured on a video that went viral leading to an uproar.
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Simpson believed his body worn camera was off during the incident, when really it was recording.
Turns out it was Simpson who initiated the confrontation, by first bumping into Abdullah and telling him to "Move out the (expletive) way."
There was also no video evidence that supported Simpson's allegation of being spit on.
The incident resulted in Abdullah and another man being charged.
Simpson is currently suspended from the police department. He faces up to up to six months in prison for the False Statement conviction. There is no maximum sentence for Misconduct in Office. It is a common-law crime which carries no sentencing limit except that it cannot be cruel and unusual.