3 Milwaukee Officers Suspended After Taser Arrest Of Bucks Basketball Player
MILWAUKEE (CNN) -- Milwaukee police on Thursday announced that three officers involved in a violent take-down and arrest of a Milwaukee Bucks basketball player that was caught on body cam video have been suspended.
The department Wednesday released body camera video of the January 26 arrest and tasing of Sterling Brown as the department's chief apologized for the incident saying it should never have escalated to "this level."
Police previously said that the Milwaukee Bucks rookie became confrontational over an alleged parking violation, prompting the officers to tase and arrest him. Brown was not charged with a crime as a result of the incident, which prompted an internal affairs investigation.
Mayor Tom Barrett also said the video portrayed a situation that needlessly escalated.
"This type of behavior has no place in our city. No citizen should be treated this way," Barrett said. Even though Brown was parked where he should not have been parked, "The fact that it escalated to what happened is what disturbed me the most," Barrett said.
"I believe that this is a situation that could have been defused, and obviously it wasn't," he said.
Brown has said he plans on suing.
The Milwaukee Bucks called the actions of police shameful and inexcusable and said Brown has the team's full support.
"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," the team said in a statement. "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."
In the video, an officer meets Brown at his driver's side door after he walks out of the store. The officer fires off questions and orders one after another as Brown tries to get a word in.
He asks for Brown's driver's license and demands to know why he parked his car across some handicapped spots. "You don't see any issue here?" the officer asks.
He repeatedly orders Brown to back up, telling him he's getting in his face, as Brown tells him not to touch him.
"Are you obstructing me? I just told you to back up," the officer asks.
"I just did," Brown says. "You touched me first."
Barely a minute has passed when the officer calls for an extra squad car. "We're going to figure out what we're gonna do," he tells Brown. "You can't do that by yourself?" Brown counters.
At least three cars more are seen arriving on the footage. The officer walks up to them and says he only wanted one extra patrol. He also tells one of his colleagues that Brown was getting in his face.
At least one car leaves and others stay. Multiple officers gather around Brown at his car and ask him questions. At one point, an officer yells at Brown to take his hands out of his pockets, and Brown says he has "stuff" in his pocket.
Other officers grab the athlete and pull him to the ground, before he is tased.
"My experience with the Milwaukee Police Department was wrong and shouldn't happen to anybody," Brown said in a statement. "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."
Brown said he chose to speak up about the incident on behalf of Laquan McDonald, Stephon Clark and others in the black community who have died in encounters with police.
"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," he said.
"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."
The-CNN-Wire
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