Body camera video of deadly Baltimore County police use-of-force incident released

The body-worn camera footage of the deadly police use-of-force incident in Baltimore County on February 16 was released by the Maryland Attorney General's Office Wednesday.

Samuel 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.

Last week, 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.

"We are demanding, because we have been asking for over two weeks now, that you release the body cam footage, as well as the dash footage, so the family can have closure to what happened to our dad, our brother, our friend," said Roberto Silva, a friend of Brown, who is known as D.J. Quicksilva.

What the video shows

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

Brown is then seen falling to the concrete and hitting his head. The video gets graphic, but a little more than a minute later, additional backup and emergency units arrive to render aid to Brown.

Officer Hadel is a nine-year-veteran with the Baltimore County Police Department.

Family demands justice

Brown's family held a news conference on Friday, Feb. 27, calling for justice and police accountability. They held another conference Thursday morning with prominent Baltimore attorney Billy Murphy, where they again called for justice and condemned the actions of the officers in the video.

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 ya'll 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."