I Got A Monster movie review & film summary (2023)

Based on the nonfiction book, I Got a Monster: The Rise and Fall of America’s Most Corrupt Police Squad by Baynard Woods and co-author Brandon Soderberg, this documentary goes deep into the story of the GTTF through the eyes of a dedicated defense attorney, Ivan Bates. Bates represented victims of Sgt. Wayne Jenkins’ uncontrollable, questionable tactics that resulted in mental terror and imprisonment of Baltimore citizens who were literally just minding their business. “No one’s helping. No one’s there. No one’s listening. How could the system fail this badly for this long? The signs were there, we just didn’t pay attention,” Bates states during his opening court statement.

“I Got a Monster” feels like a documentary combination of “The Untouchables” meets “The Wire.” However, it's the sincerity of Ivan Bates’ testimony for the court that begins and ends this film, which swells your heart with hope. Bates’ account of being pulled over and harassed until an officer clocks his badge, making him just another Black man, or the explanation of police departments being an extension of slave catchers, makes this all too real [as noted in “The 1619 Project” and “The 13th” as well] and impossible to ignore.

Maybe Freddie Gray would still be alive today if officers like Sgt. Wayne Jenkins had been properly trained, supervised, and held accountable. “It’s scary to think that Jenkins and the GTTF had such latitude and resources to go after people,” says director Kevin Casanova Abrams.

After years of effort and sting operations, Jenkins and the other members of GTTF were all sentenced to federal prison, and Baltimore city has paid more than 15 million in settlements related to their misconduct. The federal investigation into the Baltimore police department is ongoing.