Shane Lee Brown, a 23-year-old Black man, was arrested and spent six days in a Las Vegas jail after police allegedly mistook him for a man with the same name who was wanted on outstanding warrants. The actual wanted man was 49-years-old, white, with blue eyes, and a "bushy white beard." He's also 5 inches taller than the younger Brown who has now filed a suit against the police departments and officials who didn't believe him and failed to properly check records. From the Las Vegas Review-Journal:
"It's pretty hard to make a mistake of that magnitude when you have such different characteristics and races of a suspect," said attorney Brent Bryson, who wrote the lawsuit[…]
Brown, now 25, was driving after finishing work on Jan. 8, 2020, when Henderson officers pulled him over. He didn't have his driver's license with him, but he gave officers his name, Social Security number and Social Security card, the lawsuit said[…]
The 23-year-old was in the Clark County Detention Center for four days before he appeared in front of District Judge Joe Hardy. After Shane Lee Brown's public defender showed the judge the two men's booking photos, Hardy ordered the younger man to be released from jail[…]
"This happens much more frequently then what the public hears about," [Bryson] said. "It's a result of either intentional or unintentional conduct by the officers."
The suit is asking for compensatory damages of $500,000 under federal law, as well as at least $50,000 under state law, in addition to punitive damages.
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