OT Attorney: Bucks' Sterling Brown to sue Milwaukee Police Department

I enjoyed how the cops kept setting off his car alarm by trying to open the door.

 

The officer that started all this is desperately trying to find something wrong that Brown did. Checking the car's license plate, the VIN, the car has been searched multiple times, Brown is just standing there silent after being tazed.

 

That was painful to watch.

 

Statement From Sterling Brown

My experience in January with the Milwaukee Police Department was wrong and shouldn’t happen to anybody. What should have been a simple parking ticket turned into an attempt at police intimidation, followed by the unlawful use of physical force, including being handcuffed and tased, and then unlawfully booked. This experience with the Milwaukee Police Department has forced me to stand up and tell my story so that I can help prevent these injustices from happening in the future.

Situations like mine and worse happen every day in the black community. Being a voice and a face for people who won’t be heard and don’t have the same platform as I have is a responsibility I take seriously. I am speaking for Dontre Hamilton of Milwaukee, Laquan McDonald of Chicago, Stephon Clark of Sacramento, Eric Garner of New York, and the list goes on. These people aren’t able to speak anymore because of unjust actions by those who are supposed to “serve and protect” the people.

The common denominator in all of these situations has been racism towards the minority community, the abuse of power, and the lack of accountability for officers involved. The lack of repercussions for the police officers involved in so many of these cases is offensive. This is a slap in the face to the victims’ families and communities.

Black men shouldn’t have to have their guard up and instantly be on the defensive when seeing a police officer, but it’s our reality and a real problem. There must be mutual respect and both sides have to figure out how to accomplish this.

There are no easy solutions to this problem, but there are strides that can be made to create change. I will do my part in helping to prevent similar incidents from happening to the minority community in the future.

This is bigger than me. My family, friends, legal team, Priority Sports, Milwaukee Bucks, the black community and the communities of all who stand against injustice plan to continue the fight. Peaceful support to ensure no further damage to our community is the only way to respond. I know many of you will share my anger and frustration, but for our community to progress and grow, we need to build on what we already have and not destroy it. I will take legal action against the Milwaukee Police Department to continue forcing change in our community.

https://www.nba.com/bucks/statement-sterling-brown

 

BUCKS ORGANIZATION STATEMENT ON STERLING BROWN

MILWAUKEE -- The abuse and intimidation that Sterling experienced at the hands of Milwaukee Police was shameful and inexcusable. Sterling has our full support as he shares his story and takes action to provide accountability.

Unfortunately, this isn't an isolated case. It shouldn’t require an incident involving a professional athlete to draw attention to the fact that vulnerable people in our communities have experienced similar, and even worse, treatment.

We are grateful for the service of many good police officers that courageously protect us, our fans and our city, but racial biases and abuses of power must not be ignored.

There needs to be more accountability.

The Milwaukee Police Department and local officials have acknowledged the challenges they are working to address, and we urge them to enact higher standards and more direct accountability. We all want to be able to trust each and every officer serving to protect us.

Incidents like this remind us of the injustices that persist. As an organization, we will support Sterling and build on our work with local leaders and organizations to foster safe neighborhoods and better our community.

http://www.nba.com/article/2018/05/23/milwaukee-bucks-sterling-brown-statement-arrest

 

Milwaukee chief apologizes for arrest of Bucks guard Sterling Brown

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales apologized to Bucks guard Sterling Brown on Wednesday for officers' actions during a January arrest that included use of a stun gun, and said some officers had been disciplined.

Morales' apology came as the department was set to release body-camera footage of the arrest, which occurred around 2 a.m. on Jan. 26 in a Walgreens parking lot. Brown was arrested by officers who had been checking on a vehicle parked across two handicap spaces, but ultimately was not charged.

"The department conducted an investigation into the incident, which revealed members acted inappropriately and those members were recently disciplined," Morales said at a brief news conference, with the video yet to be publicly released.

"I am sorry this incident escalated to this level," he added.

He took no questions.

Brown issued a statement saying the experience "was wrong and shouldn't happen to anybody."

"What should have been a simple parking ticket turned into an attempt at police intimidation, followed by the unlawful use of physical force, including being handcuffed and tased, and then unlawfully booked," he said. "This experience with the Milwaukee Police Department has forced me to stand up and tell my story so that I can help prevent these injustices from happening in the future."

Police have shown the body-camera footage to some local officials, including a closed session of a Common Council committee.

The Milwaukee Bucks signed the 6-foot-6 guard from Southern Methodist University last summer in a deal with the Philadelphia 76ers.

His arrest and the video of it represent another potential setback for a department that for years has tried to rebuild its image and relationship with Milwaukee's African-American residents after several high-profile cases of police misconduct.

A day before releasing the body-camera footage, Morales posted a video on YouTube to reiterate his commitment to rebuild the public's trust in the department.

"So if there's ever an incident where one of our members makes a mistake, unnecessarily escalating a situation, I'm going to be honest and transparent about it," he said. "In those incidents, where we have made mistakes and are wrong, I'm sorry."

Morales was appointed chief in February, following the retirement of Edward Flynn, who held the position for 10 years.

Last year, Milwaukee paid $2.3 million to settle a lawsuit over the death of Dontre Hamilton, a mentally ill black man fatally shot by a police officer after the officer roused him from a park bench downtown. The officer said he shot Hamilton 14 times in self-defense because they got into a struggle when the officer frisked him for weapons.

In 2016, the city paid $5 million to settle a lawsuit by 74 black residents who said police illegally strip-searched them between 2008 and 2012. Currently, the city is considering settling a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union in Wisconsin, which is representing eight residents who say police targeted them for stops because they were African-American or Latino and because of the high-crime areas where they lived.

In early May, police and prosecutors began investigating four officers who were involved in the violent arrest of a black man in a majority African-American neighborhood. Video from a bystander showed a group of officers kicking and punching the man on the ground while he was restrained. Police presented their body-camera footage of the encounter, which showed the man aggressively charging at officers and trying to punch them.

http://www.nba.com/article/2018/05/23/milwaukee-chief-apologizes-arrest-bucks-guard-sterling-brown

 

The Bucks head of strength and conditioning, Suki Hobson, also chimed in.

 

Khris Middleton on Sterling Brown Arrest: ‘We Saw the Bruises and Marks on His Face’
May 23, 2018
On Wednesday evening, after a brief press conference, the Milwaukee police department released disturbing footage of Bucks guard Sterling Brown's Jan. 26 arrest.

In the video, Brown, who is surrounded by several officers, speaks with police and follows orders. Soon after, however, the mood changes and Brown is told to take his hands out of his pockets and is forcibly taken to the ground and tased. In the background of the video, Brown can be heard writhing in pain.

When information from the arrest initially hit the news, it was sold as a parking-ticket dispute gone awry. Brown, who played in the Bucks' game against the Nets later that night, declined to discuss the incident at the time and deemed it a personal issue. But his teammates and coaches knew different, Bucks forward Khris Middleton told The Crossover on Wednesday.

“We saw him the day after the incident at practice," Middleton said. "We saw the bruises and marks on his face and cuts on him. He explained briefly what happened, but at that time he just wanted to keep it private so we respected that.”

(Warning: The video below contains graphic imagery.)

After the release of the footage, Brown spoke out about his experience in a lengthy Twitter post, calling the incident an "attempt at police intimidation" and describing the issue of police brutality as "bigger than me."

The Bucks followed suit and issued a statement in support of Brown, describing the abuse he suffered as "shameful and inexcusable" and expanded on the issue to say, "Unfortunately, this isn't an isolated case. It shouldn’t require an incident involving a professional athlete to draw attention to the fact that vulnerable people in our communities have experienced similar, and even worse, treatment."

Brown, who plans to file a lawsuit against the city, asked for peaceful support and called attention to the rising tension between the black community and law enforcement in his statement.

Asked if he will support his teammate's future plans to address police brutality, Middleton said he expects the entire team to get behind Brown.

“For sure we’re going to rally around him,” Middleton said. “He’s our brother, he’s our teammate. We’re going to be there for him.”


On Wednesday evening, after a brief press conference, the Milwaukee police department released disturbing footage of Bucks guard Sterling Brown's Jan. 26 arrest.

In the video, Brown, who is surrounded by several officers, speaks with police and follows orders. Soon after, however, the mood changes and Brown is told to take his hands out of his pockets and is forcibly taken to the ground and tased. In the background of the video, Brown can be heard writhing in pain.

When information from the arrest initially hit the news, it was sold as a parking-ticket dispute gone awry. Brown, who played in the Bucks' game against the Nets later that night, declined to discuss the incident at the time and deemed it a personal issue. But his teammates and coaches knew different, Bucks forward Khris Middleton told The Crossover on Wednesday.

“We saw him the day after the incident at practice," Middleton said. "We saw the bruises and marks on his face and cuts on him. He explained briefly what happened, but at that time he just wanted to keep it private so we respected that.”

After the release of the footage, Brown spoke out about his experience in a lengthy Twitter post, calling the incident an "attempt at police intimidation" and describing the issue of police brutality as "bigger than me."

The Bucks followed suit and issued a statement in support of Brown, describing the abuse he suffered as "shameful and inexcusable" and expanded on the issue to say, "Unfortunately, this isn't an isolated case. It shouldn’t require an incident involving a professional athlete to draw attention to the fact that vulnerable people in our communities have experienced similar, and even worse, treatment."

Brown, who plans to file a lawsuit against the city, asked for peaceful support and called attention to the rising tension between the black community and law enforcement in his statement.

Asked if he will support his teammate's future plans to address police brutality, Middleton said he expects the entire team to get behind Brown.

“For sure we’re going to rally around him,” Middleton said. “He’s our brother, he’s our teammate. We’re going to be there for him.”

https://www.si.com/nba/2018/05/23/bucks-sterling-brown-arrest-milwaukee-police-khris-middleton

 

Important lesson to be learned here, if you're in the city of Milwaukee and need the police just call 911 and tell them a black man is using 2 parking spaces.

8 cop cars!

 

The initial report when all this broke months ago...

Milwaukee Police officers were writing a parking ticket on Brown's Mercedes when Brown confronted them and became combative. One of the officers then used his Taser on Brown and arrested him for resisting arrest.

 

According to the police report, the arresting officer wrote that he was conducting a business check at a Walgreens around 2 a.m. when he saw a vehicle illegally parked horizontally across two handicapped parking spaces. A passenger told the officer the driver was in the Walgreens, the officer wrote.

The driver, described as a tall black male -- later identified as Brown -- approached him "and stood within arm's reach," the officer wrote.

The officer said he "repeatedly" asked Brown to step back but Brown refused.

"Brown became very aggressive," said the officer, who called for another squad car.

As a sergeant who arrived interviewed Brown, he "physically resisted officers attempts to handcuff him and he was taken to the ground in a controlled manner," the arresting officer wrote in the report. The officer said he tried to help his colleagues "because Brown continued to resist being handcuffed."

"A Taser had to be employed to get Brown in control with handcuffs," according to the arresting officer.