Black men living in inner cities know all too well the danger of “fitting the description” to neighborhood police—and time and time again, that label has come with violent consequences. The New York Police Department’s oath to serve and protect went haywire on April 14, and now the victim is seeking millions in damages after another brutal case of mistaken identity.
Two weeks ago, Timothy Brown got off work and walked into a Brooklyn liquor store in Cobble Hill to buy a bottle of wine. Without warning, he was approached by officers who brutally beat and slammed him into a refrigerator. Detectives thought he was a drug associate of another suspect they encountered in a previous altercation, which was later determined to be inaccurate.
The encounter was captured on a bystander’s phone, showing officers repeatedly punching Brown in the face, dragging him across the floor through shards of glass, and kicking him in the back.
Brown is now suing the NYPD for a whopping $100 million. Brown’s lawyers maintain that those officers violated state and federal laws that rendered his client severely injured with physical and emotional scars, per NBC New York.
Speaking at a press conference Tuesday, Brown recounted the moment he says the encounter turned violent: “I had no knowledge of who they were. I was in shock. I didn’t understand what was going on. They said, ‘You’re under arrest,” and I said, ‘Why? I haven’t done anything.’ And before I knew it, they grabbed me, and started punching me.”
In addition to documented excessive force, Brown’s attorneys say officers involved in the brutal incident also failed to activate their body cameras and instead used personal phones to text colleagues—both violations of New York Police Department protocol.
“I’m a taxpayer,” Brown stated. “This shouldn’t happen to anyone else.”
Brown’s legal team said, “We through this litigation, hope to change the policies of the NYPD. We hope that there will be training such that these incidents will stop happening.”
Police have confirmed that the victim, Timothy Brown—a home health aide and licensed security guard—was not involved in any drug sale, and was not found in possession of drugs. While he was initially charged with resisting arrest, those charges were later dropped by prosecutors, per Fox 5 News.
The two detectives involved—who work with Brooklyn North Narcotics—have since been placed on modified duty. The New York Police Department said the incident is under review by its Internal Affairs Bureau as part of a 90-day narcotics review, which includes a full assessment of training, policy, equipment, and compliance measures.
Straight From 
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