The collective efforts of the Baltimore City Office of the Public Defender and the Private Criminal Defense Bar is paying off. Although the Joint Motion seeking access to Officers Laronde and Nagovich's IAD records has not yet been fully litigated, the Baltimore City State's Office has been steadily disposing of cases where Officer Laronde was an arresting officer, including one of Ortega Law's clients. Since the joint motion was filed at the beginning of this year, the State has dropped 8 of the 21 cases in the still pending joint motion. Officer Laronde has also been fired from his position with the Baltimore City Police Department.
I personally feel that we could not have received a better result for our clients. I am thankful to the Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office and the Baltimore City Police Department for doing the right thing - ceasing to call former Officer Laronde as a witness and firing a corrupt officer who abused his powers as a police officer. I am also thankful to have joined ranks with my colleagues with the Office of the Public Defender and the Private Bar. It shows that there is strength in numbers, and that we all need to work together to continue to get good results for our clients.
Click the link below for WBALTV's latest story involving the termination of Officer Laronde.
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