The timing of this story could not be any more spot on.
Rapper Young Moose won a $300,000 settlement after he filed a lawsuit against former Baltimore Police Officer Daniel Hersl, who was a member of the now-infamous Gun Trace Task Force, which is depicted in the HBO series We Own This City.
The $300,000 settlement is set to be approved by Baltimore’s spending board this week. An agreement was reached with the rapper and city lawyers on May 10, according to the Baltimore Sun.
The lawsuit will be dismissed once the settlement is approved.
Young Moose, born Kevron Evans, filed the lawsuit in March 2021 in Baltimore Circuit Court and originally sought $1.5 million in damages. He accused Hersl and other officers of planting drugs on him, illegally arresting him and applying for false warrants that were based on false allegations.
Evan’s lawsuit claims that the constant harassment caused him to lose out on some of his musical endeavors and hurt his image, according to the Baltimore Sun.
This settlement comes as the final episode of We Own This City just aired on HBO Monday. The series ended with Hersl and the other members of the Gun Trace Task Force (GTTF) being indicted on charges of racketeering, robbery, extortion and overtime fraud.
Hersl is currently serving an 18-year federal prison sentence after he was convicted in 2018 of racketeering crimes with the Gun Trace Task Force and was accused of stealing money during his time with the group along with other members.
Don’t worry it’s not a spoiler, the series begins knowing that the GTTF gets caught.
We Own This City tells the true story of the rise and fall of the Baltimore Police Department’s Gun Trace Task Force. The show is created and written by David Simon, who is most notably known as the creator of The Wire, the best TV show ever.
More from the Baltimore Sun:
Evans had complained about Hersl trying to derail his musical career before filing a lawsuit. Once, police used lyrics and images from one of the rapper’s videos in a statement of probable cause for his arrest and took him into custody as he was about to take the stage at the Royal Farms Arena.
The lawsuit recounted Evans’ arrest outside of a bar on Oct. 12, 2012. Several police officers handcuffed Evans and took him to Hersl, who was waiting at another location. Hersl opened the trunk of his car, got something out of it, searched him — despite his fellow officers saying they’d already searched Evans — and said he found crack cocaine, according to the suit.
The arrest resulted in Evans facing three felony charges. He accepted a plea deal on the advice of his attorney and his sentence was suspended and he was put on probation, according to the Baltimore Sun.
Evan’s conviction was later vacated by the office of Baltimore’s State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby in 2020 during a review of hundreds of cases involving the GTTF.
The people set to vote on whether to approve the settlement include Mayor Brandon Scott, City Council President Nick Mosby and Comptroller Bill Henry, according to the Baltimore Sun.