We Own This City

I love crime films and TV shows, especially the ones that are based on true stories.

Recently HBO Max released a miniseries created by David Simon, who is infamously known for “The Wire,” a crime drama that takes place in Baltimore as we go through the many perspectives of the lives of law enforcement officers, judges, lawyers, drug dealers and drug users.

Simon returns to his Baltimore roots with this riveting and chilling tale about police brutality and the power of abuse. “We Own This City” is based on Baltimore Sun reporter Justin Fenton’s book of the same name and tells the true story of the rise and fall of the Baltimore Police Gun Trace Task Force.

The story follows Sgt. Wayne Jenkins and his crew of eight who were all convicted on corruption charges.

Simon immerses the viewer on a visual landscape, told nonlinearly beginning from 2017-19. And between those years Baltimore deals with the loss of Fredd Gray, a 25-year old Black man killed by Baltimore police.

We weave through the perplexities of how the FBI, U.S. Department of Justice and local officials deal with the broken system that allows the Baltimore Police Gun Trace Task Force to operate with few if any constraints. And how corruption, abuse and mass arrest began to escalate by those who were sworn to protect their citizens.

It’s a terrific watch, and I highly recommend this six-part series on HBO Max.

— YASSER MARTE, PHOTOGRAPHER AND REPORTER, EAST OREGONIAN