FBI Rejects Calls To Investigate Case Of Cop Murdered On Eve Of Court Testimony

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Anders Hagstrom Justice Reporter
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The FBI has rejected Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis’s request for the agency to take over the investigation into the November murder of detective Sean Suiter, Davis announced Wednesday.

The FBI’s decision comes nearly three weeks after Davis initially made the request, thinking that the FBI would be better equipped to solve the case. Suiter was killed just one day before he was set to testify against fellow officers in a federal investigation. A Wednesday letter from the FBI states that there is no evidence of a connection between Suiter’s murder and the ongoing FBI investigation, and the letter concludes there is no further reason for the Bureau to take over the investigation.

“To date, no information has been developed to indicate Detective Suiter’s death was directly connected to an FBI investigation. For this reason we believe it prudent for your office to continue as the lead in this investigation,” Stephen Richardson, assistant director of the Criminal Investigative Division, wrote in a Wednesday letter.

Eight Baltimore police officers have been indicted on charges of racketeering and planting evidence at crime scenes in the FBI’s investigation, forcing the city to consider throwing out roughly 850 cases contaminated by the cops. Suiter was scheduled the testify against those officers the day after he was killed. (RELATED: WATCH: Baltimore Officer Plants Drugs On Crime Scene)

Richardson promised that the FBI would offer a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Suiter’s killer, but Davis’s department has yet to find any leads.

“We’re not close to identifying a person of interest. We’re not close to identifying a suspect. We’re not close to being able to reveal a motive,” Davis told reporters Wednesday. “We don’t have additional description of a potential suspect that wasn’t available to us that night, or that afternoon, of a black male with a black coat with some kind of white stripe on it. No eye witnesses have come forward. No video of the murder has emerged.”

Davis remained optimistic, however, claiming that homicide cases often drag on for years. He also stressed that the FBI’s rejection of his request indicates that there truly is no reason to believe Suiter’s murder was connected to the ongoing federal investigation into the BPD.

Suiter was a 15-year veteran of the police force and was married with five children. He is the 137th Baltimore officer to be killed in the line of duty.


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