BALTIMORE — The family of Samuel Brown is filing a lawsuit against Baltimore County and Officer Derek Hadel, claiming Brown's constitutional rights were violated.
Officer Hadel, a nine-year veteran of the Baltimore County Police Department, was cleared of criminal wrongdoing following an investigation by the Maryland Attorney General's Office into Brown's death.
Brown died following an encounter with Officer Hadel at the intersection of Security Boulevard and Whitehead Court in Gwynn Oak, Maryland, on February 16.
Family of Samuel Brown files lawsuit against Baltimore County, police officer over fatal encounter
Related: Maryland AG declines to prosecute officer involved in deadly encounter with Samuel Brown
During a press conference Tuesday, attorneys from Murphy, Falcon & Murphy, who represent Brown's family, presented the lawsuit, citing findings from the firm's independent investigation into prior excessive force allegations against Officer Hadel.
One incident cited in the lawsuit stems from a traffic stop on September 17, 2019, when Officer Hadel was called as backup after the initial officer reported that the driver possessed illegal drugs.
Officer Hadel, along with another officer, arrived at the scene with a K9 unit. Officer Hadel immediately approached the vehicle, claiming he could smell marijuana and knew the driver had drugs in his vehicle, later threatening to arrest him.
The lawsuit alleges that as the driver attempted to respond to police, Officer Hadel shouted, "Shut up, n*****! We don't believe anything you say!"
Officer Hadel and other officers at the scene allegedly pulled the driver from his vehicle, slammed him to the ground, and continued using the derogatory term. The driver was arrested on two possession charges, but those charges were dismissed on November 7, 2019.
Another instance cited was a traffic stop performed by Officer Hadel on May 4, 2019, involving a woman driving and her fiancé in the passenger seat.
During the traffic stop, Officer Hadel alleged the woman's fiancé was "fidgeting and moving around," claiming he knew the man "had something" and was on probation.
Officer Hadel allegedly removed the man from the car and performed multiple searches, discovering pills in the man's shoes during the fourth search.
The man was arrested on two misdemeanor possession charges. He entered a guilty plea for the first charge, but the second charge was dismissed.
"Despite these flagrant violations, the Department continued to employ Hadel and took no corrective measures against him, nor did it remove him from the force, remove him from the field, or mitigate his contact with the public in any way," the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit further alleges that Baltimore County condoned Officer Hadel's alleged prior uses of excessive force with "deliberate indifference to the constitutional rights of the public."
WMAR-2 News reached out to Baltimore County for comment, which a spokeperson replied: "Due to open litigation, Baltimore County cannot provide comment on this matter at this time."
Brown's family is seeking judgment against Baltimore County and Officer Hadel, along with $75,000 plus interest to be paid by Baltimore County.
