Henderson and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police are ponying up $90,000 for their outrageous slip up of mistaking the identity of a Black man...for a white man. Shane Lee Brown (Black) was arrested for Shane Neal Brown’s felony warrant back in January of 2020. Per the body camera footage, the officers seemed unsure about the arrest themselves.
How does one confuse a 51-year-old white man with a 23-year-old Black man? Ask the cops. When Shane Lee Brown was pulled over for not having his headlights on, he told the officers he lost his wallet. Reports say the officers called to see if Brown had court the following morning and came back to him with a weapons charge after running his name.
“I’m not a felon, I didn’t commit a felony… I was trying to plead to anyone that would listen, to let everyone know like ‘Hey can you double check,’” Brown told FOX5.
More from WFTV 9 ABC News:
According to the federal civil rights suit, Shane Lee Brown spent six days unlawfully imprisoned in the Henderson and Clark County detention facilities after both Las Vegas and Henderson police officers failed to properly check records comparing the two men, the Review-Journal reported.
Meanwhile, Bryson told the TV station that the combined settlement his client was awarded is near the maximum $100,000 that Nevada law allows when suing a government entity.
As unbelievable as this story seems, it only confirms racial profiling knows no bounds. These Nevada officers couldn’t have cared less whether Shane Lee was Shane Neal. All they saw a Black man and a warrant.
Attorney Brent Bryson emphasized to the Las Vegas Review-Journal that officers are required to investigate if they have a reason to believe they arrested the wrong person.
“This happens much more frequently than what the public hears about. It’s a result of either intentional or unintentional conduct by the officers,” said Bryson.