He was charged, suspended, exonerated ? and now he?s getting paid.
Jemini Jones, Baltimore City police officer cleared of charges that he forced a woman to have sex in exchange for her freedom, was granted full back pay by the city?s Board of Estimates on Wednesday.
The back pay ? $59,544 ? was approved as part of the routine agenda by the board at their regularly scheduled meeting.
“I think it probably should have came a little quicker than it did,” Jones said. “I?ve been exonerated for over a month. I?m blessed to be back in good standing with the department. I?m glad they followed their own procedures.”
Jones was suspended without pay in 2006 after he was charged with two cases of rape in connection with arrests he made working in the Southwestern “flex squad” unit, a plainclothes specialized enforcement team that targets drug dealers.
In January, a jury found Jones not guilty in one case, and the prosecutor?s office dropped the other one last month.
Jones? flex squad unit was dissolved more than a year ago, and accusations of wrongdoing against the officers led prosecutors to drop nearly 400 cases involving the unit.
The Board of Estimates on Wednesday approved giving Jones his back pay from Jan. 12, 2006, when he was originally suspended, to April 9, a week after he was cleared of the second rape charge.
Jones? regular pay was reinstated on April 9. However, his police powers remain suspended pending the outcome of an October illegal-handgun case against him; that trial is set for May 15.
“He has not been paid a cent since he was indicted in December 2006,” said Paul Blair, president of the city?s police union. “Since he has not committed a crime, he deserves back pay. It?s normal procedure.”
“The city did the right thing,” said Janice Bledsoe, Jones? attorney. “It?s money he earned.”
