Black man mistaken for white suspect twice his age sues police over arrest

A 25-year-old Black man sued two Nevada police departments for wrongfully detaining him in jail, after mistaking him for a white suspect twice his age.

On 8 January 2020, Shane Lee Brown was driving in Henderson, Nevada, when he was stopped by police. According to his lawsuit, Brown did not have photographic identification but provided his name and his social security number and card.

When the officers ran a record check under “Shane Brown”, an outstanding felony warrant for a firearm charge appeared.

However, the charge was for Shane Neal Brown who, according to the lawsuit, was a 5ft 1in, 49-year-old white man with brown hair and a white beard.

In addition to being 26 years younger, Shane Lee Brown was Black with black hair and stood 5ft 7in.

Officers allegedly ignored repeated explanations about the mistaken identity and detained the younger man.

Transferred to Clark county detention center two days later, Brown tried to explain the mix-up to officers with Las Vegas Metropolitan Police.

But “despite being informed of this mistaken identity”, the lawsuit said, “none of the unknown LVMPD police or LVMPD corrections officers bothered to review [their] own records to determine whether Shane Lee Brown was the subject of the warrant.

“Had any of the LVMPD police or corrections officers performed any due diligence, such as comparing Shane Lee Brown’s booking photo against the existing mugshot belonging to the white ‘Shane Brown’ named in the warrant, they would have easily determined that Shane Lee Brown has been misidentified as the subject of the warrant.”

On 14 January, Judge Joe Hardy of Clark county district court confirmed at a hearing that Shane Lee Brown was not Shane Neal Brown – and released him.

In addition to punitive damages, the lawsuit seeks damages of $500,000 under federal law and at least $50,000 under state law.

Henderson police maintained that Brown’s arrest was lawful, as he was arrested for driving with a suspended license and failure to pay a warrant issued by Henderson municipal court.

“The plaintiff in this lawsuit has not presented all the facts and circumstances behind his lawful and proper arrest by Henderson police, which will be further addressed in the city attorney’s response to the court,” the police department said.

E Brent Bryson, Brown’s attorney, told ABC News that Brown told the police officers he was aware of his violations and had set a court date to address them.

“They were going to let him go, except for the fact that when they ran [his name], it pulled up the wrongful bench warrant for the white Shane Brown,” Bryson said.

“From one standpoint, yes, they could have arrested him … rightfully … for traffic. He was wrongfully detained and arrested, however, for the warrant out of the [Las Vegas metropolitan area] for the felony possession of a firearm.”