Delaware officials have agreed to pay $25,000 to settle a federal lawsuit alleging that police used excessive force and made an unlawful arrest in an encounter with a teenage drug suspect.
A judge on Tuesday approved a stipulation of dismissal in the lawsuit filed by Roger Brown against New Castle County police following the 2019 encounter.
According to court records, Brown, who was 16 at the time, was sitting on a dirt bike at the end of his driveway talking to friends when he was approached by officers who had received a tip about drug dealing at the home.
As the officers approached, Brown started to move back into his driveway but was ordered to stop and get off the bike. Brown failed to comply and instead asked officers what he had done wrong. The officers then dragged him to the ground, leading to a scuffle caught on cell phone video that was widely distributed on local media and social media platforms.
After being repeatedly punched and threatened with a Taser, Brown relented and was taken into custody. While in the back of a patrol car, he damaged a door frame by kicking it, according to police. Police recovered marijuana, pills, a digital scale and more than $1,000 in suspected drug money from Brown’s backpack. He was charged with several drug offenses, as well as offensive touching and resisting arrest.
Brown responded with a lawsuit alleging, among other things, that police used excessive force, lacked probable cause to arrest him, retaliated against him in violation of his First Amendment rights, and violated his civil rights. A federal judge in 2021 dismissed all but the excessive force and unlawful arrest claims, ruling that that an anonymous tip was not in itself a sufficient basis to forcibly subdue and arrest Brown.
In their response to Brown’s complaint, the defendants acknowledged that New Castle County police received a tip “from a concerned citizen” about drug activity at the location, but they denied that the tip was anonymous and asserted that officers had probable cause to arrest Brown. The defense also noted that police body camera footage showed Brown walking from a police vehicle to an ambulance while shouting threats and profanities at the police officers.
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