The Milwaukee Police Department released body cam on Wednesday depicting Milwaukee Bucks guard Sterling Brown as he was approached by an officer in January. In the video, the officer stops Brown as he leaves a Walgreens Pharmacy for what appears to be a parking violation.
As the video progresses, the officer calls for backup, prompting several officers to arrive on the scene. A seemingly placid Brown is then surrounded by officers and eventually arrested. The officers can be heard yelling “tase him” repeatedly – Brown’s pained response can be heard shortly after.
Following the release of the video, the Bucks organization issued a statement admonishing what the team described as “shameful and inexplicable” behavior from the MPD.
“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.”
“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,” Brown said in a statement.
The full statement can be found on Sterling Brown’s Twitter account.
— SB (@thatnegus_sb) May 23, 2018
Teammate Khris Middleton told Sports Illustrated that Brown’s injuries he suffered during the arrest were visible the next day during a Bucks’ practice.
Following from Deantae Prince of SI,
“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.”
Brown plans to file a civil rights lawsuit against the MPD.
