An officer in the controversial Sterling Brown arrest spread racist messages on Facebook, according to posts Brown’s legal team is using as part of its defense.
In light of Brown’s lawsuit filed Tuesday against the city of Milwaukee and its police department for using a stun gun on him after he was confronted over a parking violation, officer Erik A. Andrade’s social media presence became a new point of interest.
Not long after Brown, a 23-year-old Bucks guard, was arrested in January, Andrade apparently made light of the incident on Facebook, while also engaging with other Facebook users about what happened.
“Nice meeting Sterling Brown of the Milwaukee Bucks at work this morning!” Andrade wrote on his page, according to the suit. “Lol #FearTheDeer.”
It is unclear if Andrade sent the alleged post while Brown was still in police custody or shortly after his release.
The controversial posts continued after the run-in with Brown, the court documents indicate.
Four months after Brown was wrestled to the ground by several officers in a Walgreens parking lot, Andrade allegedly mocked the situation on Facebook — this time with Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith on the receiving end.
After Game 1 of the NBA Finals, when Smith mistakenly dribbled out the clock at the end of regulation on the way to a Cavaliers loss, Andrade suggested that Smith deserved to be treated the same way Brown was when the Milwaukee officers got physical with him, as recently released bodycam footage shows.
“I hope JR Smith double parks in Walgreens handicap Parkin spots when he’s in Milwaukee!” read the alleged post.
Brown’s defense team pointed to the posts on Brown and Smith as well as numerous examples of racist memes and ideas appearing throughout Andrade’s Facebook page, which allegedly included a post making fun of NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant’s hair. The officer also shared posts, the suit says, that claimed African-Americans lie to the police, with photos of Brown attached to the messages.
“A little truth to those who wanna listen,” Andrade captioned the shared post, which included the hashtag #Bluelivesmatter, the police’s countermovement to Black Lives Matter.
Andrade also allegedly used Facebook to comment on how much he enjoyed working overtime when it involved the “use of force.”
“It’s hilarious when people talk about ‘mass incarceration,'” Andrade wrote on Facebook, according to the suit. “Mostly all the people I deal with at work do not stay locked up when they should be.”