“We Own This City” Episode 4 is all about how low the police officers, particularly Wayne Jenkins, went for their own benefit. Ryan Guinn, who used to be a squad member and worked closely with Jenkins, narrated an incident that demonstrates how Jenkins did not mind jeopardizing the lives of the common people to get things done his way. He tended to assume people who could have guns and drugs; and based on this instinct he used to conduct searches. When Jenkins noticed a man with a backpack climbing into his black car, he asked his squad to stop him for a search. The man in question panicked and drove past the police in plain clothes. Jenkins took it upon himself to get hold of the car, and to do so, he skipped signals and drove as fast as possible. Even though the squad caught up with the car, their chase led to the demise of one man and injured his wife. Guinn mentions how such car chases were not permitted for narcotics cases, yet Jenkins did so simply because he felt like it. The fourth episode digs up dirt on Jenkins, who did not have an ounce of shame for all that he did.
‘We Own This City’ Episode 4 Recap Summary
It was not only the death of an innocent man that was the result of the car chase but also the fact that the GTTF did not find any trace of drugs inside the car, making it a bogus bust. But reporting the truth would result in them losing their jobs, particularly Jenkins’. Therefore, he called his sergeant, Thomas Allers, for help. Allers came to the spot and planted drugs inside the car. Jenkins asked Sean to recheck the car, and that was when he found the planted drugs. This made his actions legitimate, and as a result, he did not have to face any consequences. The two men who were inside the car were falsely charged with drug possession.
“We Own This City.” Episode 4 focuses on the account of Maurice Ward, who joined the squad in 2015 upon the request of Jenkins. He was warned by Sean Suitor about Jenkins. He asked Ward to learn all that he could and leave the squad as soon as possible. Ward considered it to be a great opportunity for him, knowing how Jenkins was known for being the best at his job, and he wanted to work under his supervision. Jenkins had become a Sergeant by then. Even though he was involved in some cases that did not go in his favor, he was supported and protected by the department. Ward regretted making the wrong choice then.
Ward narrates one incident after another, shocking the federal agents. In the meantime, we get to know how Jenkins made a deal with the drug dealer and friend, Donald Stepp. He promised to regularly supply him with drugs, and he wanted to be paid upfront for it. He wanted to be rich, and even though he had his unfair means to earn money, it was gradually becoming not enough for him. This episode also reveals how the police dealt with the protestors who voiced their opposition to them after the Freddie Gray incident. From planting drugs and guns, stealing money from operations, and supplying drugs, Jenkins exploited his power and started to believe that he was a superhero who could never get caught.
What Happened At The Beldever Towers? What Did Ward Do With The Money?
In April 2015, Jenkins, Taylor, and Ward approached a car at the Beldever Towers. The spot was known for dealers making deals, and Jenkins was aware of the cash that was lying around. He asked two dealers to step aside from the car, and he searched the car for money. He instructed Ward to set the police car in such a way that it would block the security camera that was on the wall. Since their operation was illegal, he wanted to make sure that there would be no proof of it. He robbed the men of their money and distributed it within their squad. The dealers were used to the cops taking their cash since they had nowhere to report the incident. Even though Ward received his share, he chose to not take it home and instead kept it back in the bag.
What was worse was that after their robbery, they went to celebrate it at a strip club. Wayne was fixated on a stripper and went to the back room with her. After a few minutes, he rushed inside the club and asked Taylor and Ward to leave the premises as soon as possible. After escaping the place, Jenkins explained that he could not get much done with the stripper, but what he did instead was take back the money he gave her and also the extra she had. He robbed a stripper as well. While Ward and Taylor were at a loss for words, Jenkins found the whole incident funny and did not regret doing it.
Even though Ward was a squad member, he cooperated with the federal agents, and that helped them build the case. Ward often got rid of his share because he felt guilty as his wife was also a police officer, and she was clean. For all these reasons, Ward and Hendrix received a reduced sentence of seven years in prison.
‘We Own This City’ Episode 4: Ending, Explained – What Was The Heathfield Road Robbery Case About?
Jenkins was caught in a case of lying when an hour-long video recording indicated that Jenkins did not find drugs in the car that he had stopped. The defendant accused Jenkins of planting cocaine since there was no video recording of him seizing the drugs. Internal Affairs had asked the department to suspend or demote Jenkins, but that never occurred. He had just been provided with verbal counseling and was back on the street doing his duty. Ward said that it was the time of the Freddie Gray protest, and the department would not let the Golden Boy be locked up during an emergency.
Jenkins was angry at the protestors and even went ahead and charged at one of them when the protesters threw a stone at him. The Baltimore Police Department was, for the first time, facing the collective anger of the citizens who had lost all their faith in the police. At night, when their duty ended, Jenkins parked his car in front of a medical store. He watched men take advantage of the chaos and steal all the goods from the shop. He asked them to leave all that they stole and run. When they left, he robbed the store and supplied the drugs to Donny (Donald Stepp). Suggesting him to sell whatever he could and provide him with the cash. This incident indicates the level of low Jenkins could go to make money.
At the end of “We Own This City” Episode 4, Ward discussed the Heathfield Road robbery case. Jenkins was accompanied by Ward, Taylor, and Hendrix. He was driving on the wrong side of the road when he spotted a minivan. A man named Brown was getting into the car, and Jenkins noticed that he was carrying a book bag. He had a theory that anyone over 18 carrying a bookbag meant that they were concealing drugs or guns. After stopping the car, they recovered cocaine and found money. Out of the twenty-one thousand five hundred dollars that they found, they only submitted fifteen thousand. Jenkins lied to the two suspects, saying that he was a federal agent. He believed that the man, Stevenson, had a lot more cash and drugs in his house, and he found that he lived in Heathfield. They reached the house, and, in the basement, Jenkins found drugs and a locker. Jenkins left to get a warrant, and Taylor and Hendrix returned with a pry bar and ram. In the meantime, the women of the house were screaming out of fear; they had to be calmed down with the help of the uniform police. In the basement, they broke open the locker and found more than a hundred thousand dollars in cash. They left a hundred thousand in the locker, and the rest were kept in the duffle bag. Jenkins asked his officers to record the breaking open of the locker with the help of the phone camera. He knew this was a big case, and suspicion could arise, especially if Stevenson claimed that there were more than a hundred thousand. A video recording would be the perfect proof to show that they had submitted the amount that was left in the locker. They recreated the scene and recorded it. Later, when the squad gathered for team building, Jenkins reminded them to bring the guns and drugs as that was the only way to keep the department happy, and that was what kept them protected. As long as they did that, they could do whatever they pleased because they owned the city.
This episode also sheds light on how difficult it gets to find jury members who would not dismiss the testimony of a cop from the Baltimore Police Department. There were barely any citizens left who did not have a bad experience with the city cops. One after the other, people stood up to express their reason for distrusting the police. In the end, only seven jury members agreed to not have any prejudice against the BPD. It was because of the dirty cops that policemen such as Sean Suitor had to face difficulty in building their cases.
With a moderately well-paced episode, “We Own This City” Episode 4 is captivating to watch. The stories get dirtier, and the functioning of the squad becomes clearer. The fact that the system allowed the birth and existence of such cops points toward a history of how police got away with lying in the courthouse, assaulting innocent people, and with an overall approach of owning the place and ruling over it.
See More: ‘We Own This City’ Episode 5: Recap And Ending Explained – Was The Consent Decree Agreed Upon?
