According to US media reports citing city Police Commissioner Kevin Davis, Baltimore detective Sean Suiter, 43, an 18-year-veteran of the force and father of five, has been shot dead last week just a day before he was scheduled to testify before a federal grand jury in a corruption case involving police officers.
"Detective Suiter was going to offer federal grand jury testimony about an incident that occurred several years ago that included officers who are now federally indicted back in March," Davis has stated.
The police commissioner has emphasized that there is currently no evidence suggesting that the detective's killing was linked to the upcoming testimony, adding, however, that "there's nothing we won't consider" as the motive for the crime.
A Baltimore police officer who was killed w/his own service weapon was preparing to testify against fellow officers indicted in a drug-running scheme.
— ςサi⃘lིlི (@chiIIum) 23 ноября 2017 г.
Sean Suiter, 43, was fatally shot in the head on November 15, and authorities say there is evidence of a struggle.
"While I understand the wild possibilities that go through people’s minds when we all want answers, I just am determined to keep following the evidence," he said.
According to AP, Suiter was set to testify as a witness as part of a probe into a group of Baltimore officers who worked together on a firearms crime task force, which was tasked with removing illegal guns from city's streets, and have been charged with stealing money, property and drugs from people for several years, as well as faking police reports and lying to investigators.