Newly released police videos show that in the aftermath of the arrest of Milwaukee Bucks guard Sterling Brown, police officers were concerned about a possible backlash, WISN reported.
One officer is heard on video telling two others that that if Brown makes a complaint, it will be a “media firestorm.”
“And then any little [expletive] thing that goes wrong is going to be, ‘Oh, the Milwaukee Police Department is all racist ... blah, blah, blah,’” an officer says, according to subtitles by CBSN.
Brown was arrested in January in the parking lot of a Milwaukee Walgreens store after police say they found his car parked across two handicapped parking spaces. Police bodycam video released last month showed that officers wrestled Brown, 22, to the ground, then used a stun gun on him.
The NBA player did not appear to be resisting officers, although he did not respond when an officer told him to take his hands out of his pockets.
Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales apologized to Brown last month after the video was made public, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“The department conducted an investigation into the incident, which revealed members acted inappropriately and those members were recently disciplined,” Morales said at a news conference.
Mayor Tom Barrett said last month that he was outraged by the actions of the police officers.
“This type of behavior, whether it’s toward a professional athlete or any other citizen, has no place in our city,” Barrett said.
The newly released videos also show a police officer with his foot on Brown’s ankle even as the athlete is on the ground. “You’re stepping on my ankle, for what?” Brown says. The officer responds, “So you don’t kick us.”
In another video, an officer can be heard getting authorization from his supervisor for overtime then singing, “Money, money, money, money, money.”
Brown, who ultimately was not charged in the incident, released a statement saying, “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. This experience with the Milwaukee Police Department has forced me to stand up and tell my story so that I can help prevent these injustices from happening in the future.”