Robert Hankard, Conspiring to Deprive Civil Rights, Maryland 2020

Baltimore Police Detective Robert Hankard, 43, is facing federal charges for conspiring to deprive civil rights, falsifying records, and making false statements. The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur and Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.

According to the five-count indictment, Hankard has been a member of the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) since 2007 and was promoted to detective on March 20, 2014. In 2014 and 2015, Hankard served on a Special Enforcement Section (SES) unit assigned to the BPD's Western District.

The indictment alleges that on the evening of March 26, 2014, Hankard received a call from his partner, who asked if he had any 'toys' or 'replicas.' Hankard understood that his partner was asking for a BB gun or air soft gun so that it could be planted on a suspect. Hankard advised that he did have a BB gun and provided it to his partner, who planted it at the scene of the arrest of D.S., whom Sergeant W.J. had run over after chasing.

The indictment also alleges that Hankard falsified an application for a search warrant and an arrest report in a second incident where drugs were planted on a suspect. Hankard arrested D.B., a target in a drug investigation, on September 24, 2015, and allegedly planted some of the cocaine found in the motel room in D.B.'s truck to justify the arrest.

Hankard subsequently wrote a search warrant for the motel room, which contained several false statements. The indictment alleges that Hankard prepared a false incident report, which was approved by his partner as the 'officer-in-charge' at the time of the arrests.

The indictment was returned on January 14, 2020, and was unsealed at Hankard's initial appearance today. Hankard is currently facing federal charges of conspiring to deprive civil rights, falsifying records, and making false statements.

As a result of the allegations, D.S. was charged with possession, use, and discharge of a gas or pellet gun, for the BB gun that was planted at the scene of D.S.'s arrest, and a number of drug offenses. D.S. was detained on those charges until at least April 2, 2014, and the charges were dismissed on January 16, 2015.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/pr/baltimore-police-detective-facing-federal-indictment-conspiring-deprive-civil-rights