A young Black man is suing the police departments in Las Vegas and Henderson, Nevada after they jailed him for six days, instead of jailing an older white man with a similar name.
Twenty-five-year-old Shane Lee Brown was apparently mistaken for Shane Neal Brown, a 49-year-old white man who was sought on an arrest warrant for a charge of ownership or possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.
LawsuitAccording to the lawsuit, Henderson police pulled over Shane Lee Brown on January 8, 2020.
The young man did not have identification on him, but provided police his name, Social Security number and Social Security card, as reported by 8 News Now.
When the officers performed a records check for the name Shane Brown, a felony warrant for the 49-year-old white man appeared — and the 29-year-old was arrested.
He was first detained in the Henderson jail for two days and then taken to the Clark County Detention Center, per the news site.
Read More BelowThe lawsuit says that "during his unlawful detention, Shane Lee Brown repeatedly explained to numerous unknown Henderson police officers and supervisors that he was not the 49-year-old white ‘Shane Brown’ who was the subject of the felony warrant."
For the time being, it remains unclear how Henderson police informed the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) that a person named Shane Brown was in its custody.
In any case, while being booked into the Clark County Detention Center — which is run by the LVMPD — Shane Lee Brown was given a standard custody record identification number, which noted his race and age.
Shane Lee Brown ReleaseAccording to NPR, Shane Lee Brown was released on January 14, after a public defender told Judge Joe Hardy the wrong person was in custody.
"Your honor, we have a major issue in this case. The Shane Brown who is the defendant in our case has a separate ID number and he is a 49-year-old white male," the lawyer said.
Judge hardy immediately ordered the release.
'Correctly Arrested'
In a statement, a spokeswoman for the city of Henderson Kathleen Richards said the young man was "correctly arrested."
“During a routine traffic stop for driving an unregistered vehicle, Shane Brown was correctly arrested by Henderson police for driving with a suspended license and for a contempt of court, failure to pay warrant issued by Henderson Municipal Court," Richards claimed.
"Mr. Brown admitted to the arresting officers that he knew his driver’s license was suspended and that he had traffic warrants in Henderson. The plaintiff in this lawsuit has not presented all the facts and circumstances behind his lawful and proper arrest by Henderson police," she added.
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]]>The Inquisitr
