Bucks’ Sterling Brown to sue police, Milwaukee

MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Bucks guard Sterling Brown sued the city of Milwaukee and its police department Tuesday, saying officers’ use of a stun gun during his arrest for a parking violation constitutes excessive force and that they targeted him because he is black.

Brown’s attorney, Mark Thomsen, filed the lawsuit in federal court, accusing police of “discriminating against Mr. Brown on the basis of his race.” The lawsuit alleges officers involved in his arrest used their incident report to try to reframe what happened to give the impression Brown resisted and obstructed them.

“Mr. Brown hopes that instead of the typical denial of the claims … the city actually admit to the wrongs, admit that his constitutional rights were violated,” Thomsen said at a news conference outside City Hall after filing the lawsuit.

Brown had been talking with officers while waiting for a citation for illegally parking in a disabled spot outside a Walgreens at about 2 a.m. on Jan. 26, when officers took him down because he didn’t immediately remove his hands from his pockets as ordered. An officer yells: “Taser! Taser! Taser!”

Brown never appeared to threaten police before or during his arrest, according to police body-camera videos.

Three officers were disciplined, with suspensions ranging from two to 15 days.

Eight other officers were ordered to undergo remedial training.