William Porter, a West Baltimore native, became interested in working as a police officer as a child, when he attended summer programs through the department’s Police Athletic League.
Officers took Porter and other young participants on field trips to the Maryland Zoo and the Baltimore Aquarium, Porter recalled.
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“I was in contact with police officers every day,” Porter told the jury while testifying on his own behalf. “It was always positive.”
He said he decided to join the department in 2010, in part because he felt the public seemed to have a growing distrust of police.
“I decided I would become a police officer, and give people a different view of police,” Porter said.
He said as a police officer, he considered himself to be fair.
“I had things that annoyed me, like litter,” Porter said.
