WOODLAWN, Md. — One day after graphic body camera footage was released of the use of force incident that led to Samuel Brown's death, calls from family and friends for accountability have only grown.
“He was Big Sam to everybody else. But he was just dad to us. And this didn’t have to happen," daughter Deja Brown."It’s wrong and it’s devastating to all of us."
“Killed at the hands of a police officer on film over and over again. That's something that we have to live with for the rest of our lives," friend Roberto Silver said. "We demand justice because we know for a fact we should not be standing here."
Family of Samuel Brown demand justice after release of body-worn camera video
The 56-year-old died late last week after a fight between him and Baltimore County Officer Derek Hadel got violent.
At around 3:20 a.m. on Monday, February 16 at the intersection of Whitehead Court and Security Boulevard in Woodlawn, Brown was drunk and asleep behind the wheel of his parked car. Officer Hadel had been dispatched to perform a wellness check.
Brown initially refused to get out of his vehicle at Officer Hadel's direction.
For the first minute of video, there's no audio due to the buffer, so it's unclear what's being said. But it does show the officer forcefully closing Brown's car door.
Brown then gets out of the car and approaches Hadel, hitting down the officer's extended hand with a closed fist. The exchange quickly grows heated, once again Hadel extending his hand and appearing to lightly push Brown back, which according to a police report, was to create distance between the two but Hadel swings his arm again.
Officer Hadel responded by hitting Brown in the face with a one-two punch as he continues to tell him to get back into his car.
"You can see him do it suddenly with excessive and brutal force that was so strong that he broke bones in Big Sam's face and caused Big Sam to hit the pavement so hard that it fractured his skull," family attorney Billy Murphy said.
While medical aid was called for quickly after the officer places handcuffs on Brown, it wasn't enough to save him as he continued to bleed out on the asphalt.
"Trying to help you out," the officer can be heard saying on the video.
"That's a heck of a way to help someone," Murphy responded.
Last week Silver, who's also known under his stage name DJ Quicksilva, shared that doctors reported that Brown was brain dead. He was officially pronounced dead last Friday and laid to rest earlier this week.
Silver also shared last week that police had initially told them Brown had slipped and fell on ice.
Murphy has called for the officer to be fired, prosecuted and sued. Officer Hadel remains on administrative duty, according to the Baltimore County Police Department.
Brown leaves behind six children.
"My dad had a big heart. He was very generous, he loved helping people and just getting things done. He loved all of us differently, but he loved us," Brown shared. "He was always there. He was ours. He was present."
Statement from the Baltimore County Police Department:
The Baltimore County Police Department is cooperating with the Maryland Office of the Attorney General’s Independent Investigations Division as it continues to investigate this matter.
Murphy says the family is planning on litigation but remains cautious and will allow for the AG's investigation to wrap, according to Murphy.
