Family condemns video of deadly police use-of-force incident in Baltimore County

The family of the man seen in the February 16 body-worn camera footage of a deadly police use-of-force incident in Baltimore County called for accountability and justice a day after the video was released.

Samuel "Big Sam" Brown, 56, died on Friday, February 27, nearly two weeks after an encounter with an officer in the area of Whitehead Court and Security Boulevard in Woodlawn. The involved officer was identified as nine-year veteran Derek Hadel, according to the Maryland Attorney General's Office. 

Brown's family held a second news conference Thursday morning with prominent Baltimore attorney Billy Murphy, where they again condemned the actions of the officers in the video.

Brown's daughter described the kind of man their father was.

"He was Big Sam to everybody else, but he was just dad to us, and this didn't have to happen," said Deja Brown. "He wore a lot of hats, but he was proud to be a dad. He always talked about his children. He always bragged on us, and he always wanted us to be with him."

On February 27, Brown's family and friends demanded that the Baltimore County Police Department and the Maryland Attorney General's Office release the officer's body-worn camera footage.

"I understand some people think that they sympathize until you're forced to watch our dad, our friend, our brother, killed at the hands of a police officer on film over and over again. That's something that we have to live with for the rest of our lives, and we demand justice, because we know for a fact we should not be standing here," said Roberto Silva, a friend of Brown, who is known as D.J. Quicksilva.

The incident is currently under investigation by the AG's Independent Investigations Division (IID) as is required under state law. 

Body cam video captures use-of-force incident 

Investigators said Officer Derek Hadel found Brown asleep behind the wheel of a car at a stoplight around 3:30 a.m. The video shows footage of Brown getting out of his car after a conversation with the officer.

Officer Hadel is then seen pushing Brown back two times. 

Then you can hear the audio, after the verbal altercation.

Brown responds by shoving the officer's hand down, and after the second shove, the officer throws two punches.

"While at the same time, he hits big Sam in the face first to the right hook, and if you look real close to you, see you swinging again with a left hook. And more importantly, the police report admits that it was a one two punch followed with a left hook to his face," said Baltimore attorney Billy Murphy.

Brown is then seen falling to the concrete and hitting his head. 

Brown falls to the ground and hits his head before the video becomes graphic. Ultimately, backup officers and emergency responders arrived and provided aid to Brown.

Family reacts to body cam video 

On Thursday, members of Brown's family and their attorney, Billy Murphy, spoke out after video of the incident was released.

"You can see that Officer Hadel, instead of de-escalating the situation as required by Baltimore County Police Department policy, chose to escalate the situation illegally by sucker punching Big Sam in his face," Murphy said on Thursday. 

"You can see him do it suddenly with such excessive and brutal force that it broke bones in Big Sam's face and caused Big Sam to hit the pavement so hard it fractured his skull, resulting in his death several days later," Murphy added. 

Now, the family is questioning if the officer followed the department's de-escalation policy. 

WJZ obtained the department's 500-page Field Manual. You can read the document and its policy of de-escalation here. 

 "When you look at the video, you can see that Officer Hadel, 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," said Murphy. "You can see 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," 

Silva told reporters last month he owes his career to Brown and has known him for more than 30 years. Brown had six children.

"You have four daughters and two sons, as well as immediate family, who are demanding justice for what happened to our brother, our dad and our friend," Silva said.

An emotional Silva said he won't give up until justice is served for the man friends called "Big Sam."

"We are going to continue fighting," Silva said. "If y'all know me, I don't get tired. So when it comes to fighting for justice for Big Sam, I promise you this fight is just starting."

As for next steps, the family's attorney said that they are waiting to get the entire, unredacted version of the body's camera footage from the Maryland Attorney General's Office, with respect to their investigation.