HOUSTON – There are accusations of racism, targeting a Baytown police officer.
The incident allegedly happened when police tried to take down a suspect, who they say ended up punching a K-9 officer.
Video of the incident is raising questions.
The concerns raised by community activist Quanell X are centered on Baytown police Officer Nathaniel Brown, who’s been with the force for nearly eight years. He claims Brown repeatedly targets African-American men and women and that he often threatens and intimidates them when they come to Baytown police headquarters to file complaints.
Tuesday afternoon, Baytown police released body camera video of a foot chase and arrest being called into question by Quanell X and Raphael White, the young man at the center of the arrest in question. They say Brown abused his power, claiming he sicced a K-9 on White after he was on the ground and surrendered to police. This was after he initially ran from the authorities during a traffic stop. Police say Brown pulled White over for failing to signal while making a turn. They say White was ordered to get out of the car, and that, he did so, then took off running. The traffic stop occurred at 10:31 p.m. Jan. 24 on James Bowie Drive at Cedars Bayou Road.
Police eventually tracked White to a shed where he was hiding. They say a Taser was used on White but it wasn’t effective. A K-9 was called out to assist with the search inside that shed.
“I said, 'Officer Brown, could you please don’t allow that dog to bite me. My hands are already behind my back. Please cuff me.' He looked at me, he said, 'You are still resisting arrest.' I said 'No sir, I am not, both my hands are behind my back.' The dog kept biting me and biting me. The man pulled the dog off of me. When he pulled the dog off of me he looked at me and said, 'Are you still resisting arrest?' And he let the dog back on me again,” White said.
“I know Officer Brown is proactive and in almost my 30 years in law enforcement, officers that are proactive, people tend not to like them because they do their job, they are good at it. They are effective,” Baytown Detective Lance Watkins said.
White is charged with evading on foot and injury to a public service animal. White admitted to police that he had tickets, but that he couldn’t risk getting fired over missing work so he didn’t want to go to jail.
Quanell X claims White’s injuries from the dog were so severe he had to spend four days in a hospital. He said he wants the Harris County District Attorney to investigate the officer and the Baytown Police Department and plans to file a complaint with the District Attorney's Office.
The Baytown Police Department states it has no documented complaints filed against Brown.
