We Own This City: Who is Daniel Hersl and where is he now?

HBO has released its most recent crime drama, We Own This City which narrates the story of the other side of the world of crime. The miniseries portrays a grim and disturbing story of the corrupt cops in the Baltimore Police Department, specifically the officers who were part of the Gun Trace Task Force (GTTF).

Based on true incidents, the six-episode miniseries focuses on some of the key members of the GTTF unit and also attempts to shed some light on the numerous complaints and criminal activities that put officers behind bars.

The much-anticipated drama tells the story of a number of men from the Baltimore police division who had fallen from grace, and the crimes they got themselves embroiled in. One such name is Daniel Hersl.

Here is everything to know about the corrupt cop from Baltimore and his portrayal in the movie.

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Who is Daniel Hersl from We Own This City?

Daniel Hersl (Josh Charles) is one of the infamous police officers of the Baltimore GTTF unit who was on the radar for his rather problematic approach to maintaining law and order in the streets.

Despite surging complaints against him, he was still on the streets working and harassing common people without any rationale. It was only when attorney Nicole Steele (Wunmi Mosaku) investigated the cop, that he came under fire for his almost illegal ways of doing the job.

We Own This City in its first episode attempts to introduce us to Hersl and several other police officers who were caught indulging in wrongful activities. Hersl is portrayed as a 'bad cop', wry in his confrontations and always up for harassing common people. This, along with a number of other things got him into prison.

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What did Hersl do to land himself in prison?

Daniel Hersl is a former police detective who was one of the many officers charged with numerous crimes during his time in service. These crimes included harassment, reportedly abuse, robbery, and racketeering. He was also found guilty of dealing drugs and stealing overtime.

The HBO series delves into Hersl's criminal side in the first episode itself by portraying him in a very negative light, harassing black persons and even breaking someone's jaw after illegally withholding him.

Due to his many activities, Hersl was convicted and sentenced to 18 years in prison in 2018. Currently, he is held at the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri.

Despite many allegations, he pleaded not guilty and defended his problematic nature by saying he took an aggressive stance with the intent of defending the city, his fellow police officers, and himself from extremely dangerous drug trade activities.

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Catch the series We Own This City on HBO Max.