Reaction to video of police using taser on Bucks' Sterling Brown

Reaction to video of police using taser on Bucks' Sterling Brown image

Body camera footage showing Milwaukee police using a taser on Bucks guard Sterling Brown was released on Wednesday.

The hashtag #StandWithSterling quickly started trending on social media, as video of the January incident over a parking violation started circulating online. 

Bucks players DJ Wilson and Brandon Jennings were among the first to use it:

Here's the video:

Brown released a statement through the Bucks:

"My experience in January with the Milwaukee Police Department was wrong and shouldn’t happen to anybody.  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.

Situations like mine and worse happen every day in the black community. Being a voice and a face for people who won’t be heard and don’t have the same platform as I have is a responsibility I take seriously. I am speaking for Dontre Hamilton of Milwaukee, Laquan McDonald of Chicago, Stephon Clark of Sacramento, Eric Garner of New York, and the list goes on. These people aren’t able to speak anymore because of unjust actions by those who are supposed to “serve and protect” the people.

The common denominator in all of these situations has been racism towards the minority community, the abuse of power, and the lack of accountability for officers involved. The lack of repercussions for the police officers involved in so many of these cases is offensive. This is a slap in the face to the victims’ families and communities.

Black men shouldn’t have to have their guard up and instantly be on the defensive when seeing a police officer, but it’s our reality and a real problem. There must be mutual respect and both sides have to figure out how to accomplish this.

There are no easy solutions to this problem, but there are strides that can be made to create change. I will do my part in helping to prevent similar incidents from happening to the minority community in the future. 

This is bigger than me. My family, friends, legal team, Priority Sports, Milwaukee Bucks, the black community and the communities of all who stand against injustice plan to continue the fight. Peaceful support to ensure no further damage to our community is the only way to respond. I know many of you will share my anger and frustration, but for our community to progress and grow, we need to build on what we already have and not destroy it. I will take legal action against the Milwaukee Police Department to continue forcing change in our community."

The Bucks also released a statement:

"The abuse and intimidation that Sterling experienced at the hands of Milwaukee Police was shameful and inexcusable. Sterling has our full support as he shares his story and takes action to provide accountability.

Unfortunately, this isn't an isolated case. It shouldn’t require an incident involving a professional athlete to draw attention to the fact that vulnerable people in our communities have experienced similar, and even worse, treatment. 

We are grateful for the service of many good police officers that courageously protect us, our fans and our city, but racial biases and abuses of power must not be ignored. 

There needs to be more accountability.  

The Milwaukee Police Department and local officials have acknowledged the challenges they are working to address, and we urge them to enact higher standards and more direct accountability. We all want to be able to trust each and every officer serving to protect us.   

Incidents like this remind us of the injustices that persist.  As an organization, we will support Sterling and build on our work with local leaders and organizations to foster safe neighborhoods and better our community. "

Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales released a statement on the incident:

"On January 26, 2018 at approximately 2:00 a.m., members of the Milwaukee Police Department encountered Sterling Brown near the 2700 block of W. National Avenue regarding a parking violation.

During the encounter Mr. Brown was decentralized, tased and arrested.

The Department conducted an investigation into the incident which revealed members acted inappropriately and those members were recently disciplined.

Criminal charges against Mr. Brown were not pursued.

I am sorry this incident escalated to this level.

Today we are releasing body camera video capturing the interaction. The Milwaukee Police Department’s Open Records Division is still working to fulfill all requests for this video.

When I took office, I vowed to rebuild trust between the Milwaukee Police Department and the community. We are doing that.

I promised that when the Department is involved in events of this nature, we will be honest about them. We are.

I also promised to change the direction of the Department and through meetings with intergovernmental partners, community-based and faith organizations, and system partners we have begun that process.

The men and women of the Milwaukee Police Department are dedicated to protecting and serving the citizens of Milwaukee. We have hundreds of interactions with citizens each day, and those contacts end positively.

Therefore, we ask residents to work with us in our shared vision of making Milwaukee a safe place to live, work and raise a family."

Check out more Twitter reactions to the video: