Officer Indicted for Recording False Reports of Traffic Stops in Electronic Reporting System

Baltimore (Md.) August 10, 2026 - Today, State’s Attorney Ivan J. Bates was joined by Mayor Brandon M. Scott, Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley and prosecutors from the Public Trust & Police Integrity Unit to announce the indictment of BPD Officer Dequwan Houchins on four counts of False Entry in a Public Record and five counts of Misconduct in Office. If found guilty of all charges, Officer Houchins faces a maximum penalty of 12 years of incarceration and/or a $4,000 fine for all four False Entry charges. Misconduct does not have a maximum penalty. Chief Steven Trostle of the Public Trust & Police Integrity Unit will prosecute this case. An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at trial. 

“Every Baltimore Police officer takes an oath to serve and protect our city, and with that oath comes a responsibility not only to the public, but to the fellow officers who rely on them every day. The allegations in this indictment reflect a troubling disregard for that responsibility. By allegedly entering false traffic stops into the CAD system to make himself unavailable for service calls and instead relaxing, sipping on a smoothie, or attending to other personal matters, this officer placed a burden on his brothers and sisters in uniform and potentially jeopardized their safety,” said State’s Attorney Ivan J. Bates. “No one entrusted with the authority of a badge is above accountability, and falsifying official records for personal convenience is a serious breach of the public trust. I want to thank the Baltimore Police Department’s Ethics Investigators for their thorough work in bringing these allegations to light and for their continued partnership in ensuring integrity and accountability within law enforcement.”

When BPD officers interact with members of the public in an official capacity, they are required to record the interaction on body-worn camera (BWC). When making a traffic stop, BPD officers are required to electronically file the details of the stop, including the license plate number of the stopped vehicle and BWC footage of the interaction.

The indictment alleges that, on or about December 2, 2025, BPD was conducting a random audit when it was discovered that Officer Houchins had been making numerous false reports of traffic stops in the electronic reporting system (CAD) for at least four months. Ethics Investigators suspected that Officer Houchins had been using these false reports to claim that he was unavailable to respond to any service calls, leaving other officers to pick up calls that would have been assigned to him. BPD Internal Affairs investigated the period detailed in the allegations and found that Officer Houchins had not filed any BWC footage for any stops during this period.

“The actions of this officer are shameful, and I want to thank BPD ethics investigators for taking action,” said Mayor Brandon M. Scott. “The men and women of BPD take an oath to protect and serve—and this individual broke that oath, both to his fellow officers and to the residents of our city. We are committed to holding anyone who puts our communities at risk accountable, especially individuals tasked with upholding public safety.”

As a result of their audit, BPD conducted an undercover investigation of Officer Houchins’ traffic shifts, in which detectives followed Officer Houchins and noted his location and status each time he logged a traffic stop to determine whether the stops were legitimate. These investigations were conducted in 2026 on April 8, April 15, April 21, and May 13, each lasting approximately two hours.

“Baltimore residents deserve to know that every member of this Department is doing their job the right way, with honesty and integrity,” said Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley. “Our systems identified activity that was suspicious, our investigators followed up, and that work ultimately led us to this announcement. I want to thank our Ethics Unit and the State’s Attorney’s Office for their collaboration on this case. We will continue to hold ourselves accountable, investigate concerns when they arise, and take action when a member of this Department violates the Department’s and public’s trust.”

According to court documents, during the two hours of surveillance conducted on April 8, 2026, undercover investigators observed Officer Houchins make two legitimate stops and record two illegitimate stops. During the two hours of surveillance conducted on April 15, 2026, undercover investigators observed Officer Houchins make two legitimate stops and record one illegitimate stop. During the two hours of surveillance conducted on April 21, 2026, undercover investigators observed Officer Houchins make three legitimate stops and record two illegitimate stops. During the two hours of surveillance conducted on May 13, 2026, undercover investigators observed Officer Houchins make two legitimate stops and record three illegitimate stops. During the entire investigation period, Officer Houchins recorded nine legitimate and eight illegitimate stops.

On several of the occasions that the undercover investigators noted illegitimate documented stops by Officer Houchins, the Defendant was seen sitting idle in his car and not conducting any traffic enforcement; during other illegitimate documented stops, Officer Houchins was seen engaging in personal matters such as ordering a smoothie at a smoothie store, while having documented that he was engaged in traffic enforcement at that time.