Milwaukee Bucks player Sterling Brown on Friday said he “gave in” when police used a stun gun as they detained him for a parking violation, because he did not want officers to “pull out their guns.”
“I was just being smart. I just wanted to get out of the situation and get home,” Brown told the Journal Sentinel.
He said he still gets upset when he watches the video of his interaction with officers in the parking lot of a Walgreens on Jan. 26.
Photo: Milwaukee Police Department-AP
An officer had approached Brown because he was double-parked in a handicap spot and the interaction quickly escalated. The officer called for backup as the conversation with Brown became tense and a half-dozen squad cars responded.
Brown said he thought he and the first responding officer were simply “going to have a dialogue back and forth between two men” and did not expect the situation to escalate.
“I don’t see what I could have done different,” said Brown, whose father was a police officer in Maywood, Illinois, where the Bucks guard grew up.
He said that before moving to Milwaukee, his interactions with police had been for minor things, like traffic tickets.
“I’ve encountered polite, rude, everything, but things didn’t escalate in those situations,” he said.
At one point after backup arrived, Brown was surrounded by four officers. One of them asked him to take his hands out of his pockets and a scuffle immediately ensued. Within seconds, one officer yelled “Taser! Taser! Taser!” and Brown was on the ground groaning in pain.
The video was publicly released on Wednesday.
Three officers involved in the arrest were given suspensions ranging from two to 15 days. Eight others are to undergo remedial training in professional communications.
Police Chief Alfonso Morales personally apologized to Brown last month, when he went to the Bucks’ practice facility to show him the video.
“I get mad every time I watch it,” Brown said. “I was defenseless.”
Despite what happened, Brown said he does not regret joining the Bucks.
“These incidents happen in every state, every county, every jurisdiction,” he said. “I’ve gotten a lot of love and support from Milwaukee.”
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