Today the Milwaukee Police Department released the Sterling Brown arrest video, which confirms that Brown was not “combative” as was initially reported. You can find the 30-minute piece of body-cam footage below. One of the cops uses a taser on the Milwaukee Bucks player just after the 8:00 mark.
Brown was arrested on Jan. 26 in a Walgreens parking lot and charged with resisting arrest after police claimed he approached them menacingly while they were writing him a ticket. However, the charges against Brown were quickly dropped and police braced for a backlash ahead of the video’s release. The department released it tonight at the end of the workday, and as Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said, Brown was not hostile or threatening before he was arrested.
The video shows an officer approaching Brown as he goes to get back into his car, which was parked right in front of the Walgreens (the lot is essentially empty because it’s about 2 a.m.). As Brown points out that he doesn’t see anything wrong with parking across two lanes since the lot is empty, the officer tells Brown to back away from him and calls for backup. When backup arrives, the officer (whose name was not released by MPD) says he “only wanted one [car for backup]” and that Brown got “right up in my face.” After several officers surround Brown, one angrily tells him to get his hand out of his pocket. When Brown points out that his hands are full, the officer wrenches Brown’s hand out, and a group of officers wrestle him to the ground and tase him. Brown can be heard groaning in anguish after an officer shouts “Taser! Taser! Taser!”
Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales held a presser this evening and released a statement apologizing for the unnecessary force used on Brown. The department ruled that the arresting police “acted inappropriately” and have been disciplined. Morales and his team shuffled off without answering any questions as the assembled press asked why they’d held the conference before giving anyone a chance to see the video.
Brown released a statement of his own, confirming that he will file a lawsuit “to continue forcing change in our community”:
The Bucks released a statement calling Brown’s arrest “shameful and inexcusable.”