A federal judge has denied a compassionate release request filed by a former Baltimore police officer convicted in 2018 as part of the department’s Gun Trace Task Force corruption scandal.
Daniel Hersl, the oldest member of the deeply corrupt and now-disbanded Baltimore police unit, was sentenced to 18 years behind bars after a jury found him guilty of racketeering and robbery.
Last month, he filed the request for release, saying he was recently diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer that has spread to his lymph nodes, liver, lungs and more. He said a prison doctor concluded he has less than 18 months to live, and asked for home detention.
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Hersl, 53, was one of eight indicted members of the once-lauded Gun Trace Task Force, which was created to get illegal guns off the streets of a city plagued by violent crime. But instead, members robbed drug dealers, planted narcotics and firearms on innocent people and assaulted random civilians. More than a dozen officers have been convicted in the scandal since 2017. Hundreds of cases that hinged on their testimony were later dropped.
Prosecutors said Hersl "devalued" people he dealt with as an officer and "abused his power to prey on them." They said he also ripped off taxpayers by committing rampant overtime fraud, including an entire month that he spent refurbishing his house while on the clock.
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In his order Monday denying Hersl’s request, U.S. District Judge George L. Russell III noted the seriousness of the ex-detective’s crimes, saying they "irreparably damaged … the reputation of the Baltimore City Police Department and all of the many law abiding public servants therein."
"A message certainly needs to be sent that if you commit criminal conduct or otherwise engage in a racketeering conspiracy you will be held accountable and punished," Russell wrote.
In a last-minute court filing Monday, Hersl’s attorney, William Purpura, quoted recent emails from Hersl in which he complains of "constant pain" and says he hopes to "make the trip home to spend time with my son & family before my days are done."
Russell said the federal Bureau of Prisons will continue to manage Hersl’s medical care and allow him visits with his family during his ongoing incarceration.
