In “We Own This City,” Episode 2, we witness Wayne Jenkins in his usual confident state, hoping to be released soon as he believes he is not someone anybody would dare mess with. When Wayne joined the Baltimore Police Department in 2003, he was a young, nervous policeman straight out of the academy. His colleague, Eddie Barber, introduced him to the crooked ways in which the BPD functioned. Meanwhile, in 2015, the FBI and McDougall started working on establishing the connection between Antonio Shropshire and G-Money, aka Momodu Gondo. Along with them, Nicole Steele from the DOJ connected with the victims as well as colleagues of the policeman who had several complaints of police brutality. After their arrests in 2017, Rayam, a member of the GTTP, confessed their activities to the FBI.
Episode 2: Recap Summary – Why Did The Police Make Several Arrests?
Right after Jenkins joined the Baltimore police force, he was taught the ways that would help him keep his record clean and would get him extra cash. Eddie discussed that to avoid any conflict or gang war; they would arrest as many civilians as possible, even if they were innocent. It was their way of making sure that the corners remained empty. The logic was simple: if every other person was locked up, they would not fight in the streets. While it is illegal to arrest a person for no reason, they somehow justify their intention. Even though they were aware that the court would not process the charges, Eddie said that in America, beat cops were the greatest dictators, indicating that they could do as they pleased and they would remain unharmed.
In one instance, when Eddie and Wayne searched three men for drugs, they found weed on only one of them. Eddie handcuffed all three of them. He explained to Wayne that to earn extra money, he had to either work overtime or get court pay. Working overtime was not a viable option since it had its technicalities, but with court pay, their stats looked good, and they could overfill the day’s docket and get paid twice. This was why arresting three was more beneficial to them than arresting only one.
A look into Wayne’s past years helps in understanding the mindset of the notorious cop. How corruption was a part of the system and not something Jenkins had started on his own. Even if he had entered as an ethical policeman, his companions changed the way he viewed the world. Earning extra at work becomes the priority. Barely anyone truly cares about their role in society. The mistake that Jenkins and his team made was that they could not control their greed. They crossed every limit to get hold of extra wealth.
How Did The FBI Connect Gondo With Shropshire?
After the arrest of Aaron Anderson, the truth about the BPD started to surface. When the police questioned him and asked him to share information in exchange for probable leniency on his charge, he started to speak. He was asked about Shropshire, aka Brill. Anderson used to score drugs from Brill, but he later changed his source. The reason was that Brill was unfair to him. They used to fix their location over the phone. When the police suggested he call Brill and set a meeting, Anderson rejected the idea. It was Brill who had set Twan and Munch to kick open his door and rob his belongings. He added that he would not have shared any information had it been the Baltimore city police because he knew that they had a good relationship with Shropshire.
He informed them that it was G-money from narcotics, who was a close friend of Shropshire. This information intrigued the police. After their conversation with Anderson, they involved the FBI, Special Agent Jensen, and Sergeant Sieracki. Together, they planned to tap Shropshire’s phone and place a tracker in his car. Other than the fact that a cop from narcotics was involved with a drug dealer, they also had their doubts regarding the tracker that was placed on Anderson’s car that belonged to the GTTF but was never collected back.
Their case was further strengthened when Jensen had a word with Detective Ryan Guinn of the BPD, who reported having witnessed Detective Momodu Gondo, aka G-Money, ‘s close friendship with Antonio Shropshire. Gondo tried to establish that Shropshire was a good man and that it was only people who thought he was a drug dealer. These strange factors made their doubts stronger, and they waited for G-Money to contact Shropshire. Shropshire’s call list indicated innumerable calls from Gondo. Ultimately, Gondo did make another contact with Shropshire, and the police recorded it as evidence.
‘We Own This City’ Episode 2: Ending Explained – What Did Rayam Reveal About GTTF’s Operations?
Even though Jenkins asked Rayam to not reveal any details of their operation, he went ahead and confessed the truth. He knew that the FBI knew about their dealings, and there was no point in believing that they could hide their operations any longer. He explained the whole ordeal of the night they robbed Anderson’s house. Gondo did not leave the car they arrived in, as he was scared of being recognized. Rayam and Glenn went to the house. They revealed that they had placed a tracker in Anderson’s car that helped them figure out his whereabouts. Taking his absence to their advantage, they took all that was valuable in his apartment. Out of all the officers in the GTTF, it was only John Clewell (whose tracker they had used) who was not involved in any robbery. The FBI was surprised to learn that even Sergeant Allers, their supervisor, was also involved in their operations. Rayam explained that the Sergeants looked forward to what the Lieutenants could bring back, as no matter what their position was, everyone wanted their share of the wealth.
Meanwhile, in 2015, a homicide case was filed, and Detective Sean took the job. After studying the body, he had a word with the family members. The wife informed him that after a round of machine-gun fire, she found her husband lying on the ground. People started to assume that the man was murdered by members of a drug gang since the man in question was building a fence to keep them away. While it was a good theory, Sean doubted its potential as he believed that the one who pulled the trigger had severe anger management issues, and that was the reason why they fired five times. In the meantime, Nichole from the DOJ started studying Officer Hersl, who was infamous for brutality in Baltimore City. He had 46 complaints, but only one was sustained, indicating that most victims backed out for some reason or another. Hersl justified it by saying that the ones who had complaints filed against them were the ones who were truly policing.
“We Own This City” Episode 2 jumps timelines, going from 2003 to 2015 and again to 2017. Even with a vastly spread timeline, the series manages to bring it all together to form a coherent storyline that allows the audience to understand and form an opinion regarding those who were arrested. There is a lack of sense of remorse among every police personnel who was arrested. In the end, we witness a puzzled Jenkins, who perhaps remembered how he had evolved from a nervous young policeman to a corrupt cop who had started to believe that he could get away with anything.
