After consenting to a search of his house, a Baltimore police officer was recently arrested when his colleagues discovered the corpse of his teenage stepson inside a hole in the wall. The officer has also been accused of making an escape attempt and grabbing another officer’s gun.
Shortly before 5 p.m. on July 6, Anne Arundel County Police met with the wife of Baltimore Police Officer Eric Banks Jr. after she had filed a protective order against Banks for emotional abuse and hacking her bank account before changing her password. The officers met with Banks’ wife to assist her in picking up her 15-year-old son, Dasan Jones, who had been staying with his stepfather, Banks.
When questioned about his stepson’s whereabouts, Banks falsely told the officers that Dasan had left the residence even though the teen’s belongings still remained at the house. After receiving permission to search the home, officers found a white sheet covering a large hole in the wall near the top of the stairs.
Banks attempted to tell the officers that it was only a gun safe, but they ordered him to back up and immediately discovered the body of Dasan Jones inside the wall. Banks was placed under arrest and handcuffed.
According to charging documents, Banks told an officer that his handcuffs were not double-locked as he entered the patrol vehicle. As the officer tried to double lock the cuffs, Banks attempted to flee from the vehicle.
During the altercation with the officer, Banks allegedly grabbed his gun and tried to take it from him. While fighting for the gun, Banks reportedly told the officer, “You’re gonna have to end this.”
Police officials have confirmed that Banks has been suspended without pay. Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said Banks’ police powers had already been suspended over a prior incident that Harrison refused to discuss.
Last month, Banks’ wife filed an unsuccessful protective order against him for stalking and multiple other forms of emotional abuse. A judge denied the first temporary protective order petition on June 28.
Just hours before her son’s body was found, a judge approved a temporary protective order to keep Banks away from his wife. On Friday, Anne Arundel police confirmed that they are waiting for the state’s medical examiner to complete an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of Dasan’s death.
Banks has served three years as a Baltimore police officer. Before that, he was a sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps and served three tours of duty in Afghanistan.
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