No charges to be filed in case of “Big Sam” Brown, who died at hands of Baltimore County police
By Bryan Lynn, Mike Hellgren
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BALTIMORE, Maryland (WJZ) — A Baltimore County police officer will not face criminal charges in connection with the death of 56-year-old Samuel “Big Sam” Brown, Maryland’s Attorney General announced on Thursday.
Officer Derek Hadel was placed on administrative leave following the Feb. 16 encounter at a Woodlawn intersection. Brown died at a hospital nearly two weeks later on Feb. 27. The State’s Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the manner of death a homicide in March.
Body cam footage showed incident The Maryland Attorney General’s Office released the police-worn body camera footage in March.
Investigators said the Baltimore County officer found Brown asleep behind the wheel at a stoplight in the area of Whitehead Court and Security Boulevard in Woodlawn around 3:30 a.m. on February 16.
The video shows footage of Brown getting out of his vehicle during a conversation with the officer. The video then shows Officer Hadel pushing Brown back two times.
A verbal altercation continues, and Brown is then seen shoving the officer’s hands down.
The officer is then seen throwing two punches, and Brown falls back and hits his head on the concrete. The Attorney General’s report said Officer Hadel requested emergency medical services (EMS) and rendered medical aid to Brown until EMS arrived to transport him to the hospital.
A statement issued by Attorney General Anthony G. Brown concluded by saying that “after completing its investigation and evaluating all the available evidence, the Office of the Attorney General has determined that the subject officer did not commit a crime under Maryland law.”
Family’s reaction Brown’s family told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren Thursday they are “incredibly disappointed” by the attorney general’s decision and said their lawyers will be giving a detailed response next week.
In March, Billy Murphy, the attorney for the Brown family, told WJZ, “At the time of the attack, ‘Big Sam’ was obviously drunk. He was defenseless because he was standing still with his arms at his side when he got hit. His hands were empty. He had no weapon, and you can see that Officer Hadel’s violent attack was completely unnecessary, inexcusable, and in fact criminal.”
Murphy said Brown suffered a fractured skull and broken bones in his face.
The veteran attorney told WJZ, “Instead of de-escalating the situation as he was required by law and departmental policy to do, he chose to escalate the situation illegally by sucker punching big Sam in his face.”
Brown’s daughter, Deja Brown, wept during the March news conference.
“He was ‘Big Sam’ to everyone else, but he was just ‘Dad’ to us, and this didn’t have to happen. It’s wrong. It’s devastating to all of us,” she said. “He was loving. He was caring. He was whatever we needed him to be whenever we needed him to be it, and my family just prays that justice will be served.”
“Big Sam” Brown often worked with DJ Quicksilva, who said no one truly understands the pain Brown’s loved ones are feeling.
Why no charges? In their report, investigators for the Maryland Attorney General wrote, “There is insufficient evidence to prove the officer in this case intended to use force that exceeded what was necessary and proportional to protect himself.”
The investigators determined Brown was so close to the officer that using pepper spray or a Taser to de-escalate “would have been unadvisable.”
They noted the officer did lightly push Brown and give verbal commands.
The report stated, “Mr. Brown’s refusal to comply with law-enforcement commands, his continued approach towards the officer, and his multiple slaps at the officer’s hand presented an imminent threat to the officer’s safety.”
The medical examiner previously ruled Brown’s death was a homicide.
The attorney general’s report said, “The evidence here is insufficient to defeat a claim that the subject officer acted in self-defense. Specifically, we cannot prove that it was unreasonable for the subject officer to believe that Mr. Brown posed an ongoing threat to his safety, as Mr. Brown had defied commands, confronted the subject officer, and twice slapped at the officer’s hand. With these facts—and evidence that Officer Hadel acted in accordance with his BCPD training on defensive tactics—we cannot prove that the use of force demonstrated a reckless disregard for Mr. Brown’s life. Nor can we prove, considering Mr. Brown’s proximity and assaultive conduct, that the use of force was more than reasonably necessary to stop the threat presented.”
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