"Big Sam" Brown's family files civil rights lawsuit after Maryland declined to file charges against officer

The family of "Big Sam" Brown has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Baltimore County police and the officer who punched Brown, leading to his death last February in Woodlawn.

The lawsuit alleges a pattern of police brutality in Baltimore County and argues that Officer Derek Hadel should have done more to de-escalate the encounter.

The lawsuit comes days after the Maryland attorney general declined to file criminal charges against Hadel in connection with Brown's death.

Aftermath of a fatal blow

Samuel "Big Sam" Brown never recovered after Hadel punched him during an encounter shortly after 3 a.m. on Feb. 16 at Security Boulevard and Whitehead Court.

"Justice for Big Sam. That's the only thing we've always wanted from day one … until whenever it happens," said Brown's close friend Roberto "DJ Quicksilva" Silva. "Me, his family, we are not going to stop fighting for justice."

Brown's attorneys said he was intoxicated and sitting in his vehicle at a stoplight when police responded. They said he was not a threat to the officer.

"He was not operating at his full capacity, and what he needed that night was patience. What he needed was de-escalation. What he needed was help, and instead, Officer Hadel punched him twice in the head, and 11 days later Sam Brown was dead," said Malcolm Ruff of Murphy, Falcon & Murphy. "His wellness check became his death sentence, which is completely unacceptable."

Ruff told WJZ Investigates, "Every American should be able to call 911 and ask for help without the fear that that call could become a death sentence."

The beginning of the interaction, which was captured on body-worn camera, has no audio.

Brown was in his SUV when Hadel shut the door. Seconds later, Hadel walked toward his police cruiser, and Brown got out of the SUV and approached him.

The video shows Hadel punching Brown, who fell to the pavement.

Brown suffered a fractured skull.

"Big Sam was not killed in self-defense. Officer Hadel did not have to defend himself against the man who was standing next to him, drunk with his hands at his sides with no weapon. He did not have to die," said veteran civil rights attorney Billy Murphy, who is representing Brown's family. "All Officer Hadel had to do was step back and call for backup if he did not want to arrest him."

The Maryland Office of the Attorney General's Independent Investigations Division investigated the case after Brown's death.

Although the medical examiner ruled Brown's death a homicide, investigators determined there was insufficient evidence to establish criminal conduct by Hadel.

Investigators said Hadel was too close to Brown to safely use pepper spray or a Taser and found insufficient evidence that the officer's use of force was excessive.

The attorney general's office determined that Brown's approach toward Hadel presented an "imminent threat" to the officer's safety.

Murphy disagrees with that conclusion.

"Heck no. We think he got it wrong, but we're not here to criticize the attorney general. We're here to get justice for Big Sam," he said.

Murphy and his legal team said they uncovered allegations of previous misconduct by Hadel, including an allegation that he used a racial slur. Those claims are outlined in the lawsuit.

Hadel's police union has not responded to the allegations.

Pattern of unconstitutional policing

The lawsuit also alleges a pattern of excessive force and unconstitutional policing in Baltimore County, as well as inadequate training and supervision of officers.

"It asks whether what happened to Sam was really the conduct of one officer or Baltimore County's own policies, customs, training, supervision, discipline and institutional practices that helped create the conditions in which it occurred," said Paris Holmes of Murphy, Falcon & Murphy.

Murphy said the department should consider changes similar to reforms made in Baltimore City.

"Just like what we went through in Baltimore, they need to be retrained under a different protocol that is community-friendly and criminal-unfriendly," Murphy said.

Murphy's firm said its review of data found that Black residents in Baltimore County are disproportionately subjected to police use of force. The firm said about 65% of police use-of-force complaints between 2017 and last year involved Black residents, who make up about 30% of the county's population.

WJZ Investigates reached out to Baltimore County police. The agency declined to comment and referred questions to the Baltimore County Law Department.

Baltimore County Government also declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.

Brown's family did not speak during the announcement of the lawsuit, but his daughter, Deja Brown, previously spoke with WJZ about her father.

"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 in March.