Milwaukee Bucks player Sterling Brown has said he ‘gave in’ when police used a stun gun as they detained him for a parking violation because he didn’t 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 on Friday.
He said he still gets upset when he watches the video of his interaction with officers in the parking lot of a Walgreens on January 26.
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 gave interview to Good Morning America (above) and other outlets on Friday
Sterling Brown is seen in bodycam footage talking to arresting police officers in a Walgreens parking lot in Milwaukee in January. He has spoken out to reveal his terror at the incident
Bodycam footage of Milwaukee Bucks star Sterling Brown (pictured) being arrested in January shows the star guard being pulled to the ground, tasered and arrested over a parking violation
Brown said he thought he and the first responding officer were simply ‘going to have a dialogue back and forth between two men’ and didn’t expect the situation to escalate.
Brown has retained a civil rights lawyer and is suing the police department over his arrest
‘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.
In another interview with Good Morning America, Brown said that watching the video of the arrest just makes him angry.
‘I mean, I get mad every time I watch it, you know, ’cause I was defenseless, pretty much,’ said Brown.
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 Wednesday.
Three officers involved in the arrest were disciplined, with suspensions ranging from two to 15 days. Eight others will undergo remedial training in professional communications.
The officers’ names will be released after a required legal notice, the department said.
Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales apologized to Brown for officers’ actions during a January arrest that included use of a stun gun, and said some officers had been disciplined
The Bucks labelled the MPD’s treatment of Brown as ‘shameful and inexcusable’
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.’
Brown’s attorney did not grant an interview request from The Associated Press with his client.
Despite what happened, Brown said he doesn’t regret joining the Milwaukee Bucks.
‘These incidents happen in every state, every county, every jurisdiction,’ he said. ‘I’ve gotten a lot of love and support from Milwaukee.’