A DC police officer has revealed that he was instructed not to include details of a federal agent shooting at a driver during a traffic stop in his report. The admission comes as part of a broader pattern of charges brought by federal agents being dismissed in court.
The incident involved Phillip Brown, who was stopped by officers after switching lanes at high speed while the police were patrolling with agents from various agencies. According to officer Jason Sterling's affidavit, he and another officer, Divonnie Powell, noticed Brown driving normally but thought he might try to flee. They moved out of the way to allow federal partners to stop the vehicle.
However, when Sterling wrote up his report, he omitted any mention of the shooting. Instead, he stated that the driver had "disregarded" orders and attempted to flee, without mentioning the agent's actions. Similarly, Powell's incident report made no reference to the shooting either.
It's unclear why Brown was charged with a felony for fleeing from law enforcement when two bullets went through his passenger seat and another tore near his jacket's collar - incidents that occurred before he was even stopped by police.
The officer's admission raises questions about internal investigations into police shootings. According to Brown's lawyer, Quo Mieko S Judkins, the decision not to include details of the shooting in Sterling's report suggests an internal investigation had already been launched.
Judkins claimed that neither she nor the US attorney deciding whether to file charges against Brown had seen body-camera footage from the incident - which was later described as "locked down". The prosecutor then offered Brown a plea deal, despite not knowing about the federal agent's actions. Judkins argued that this was coercion and that there was no meaningful consideration given.
The case has sparked outrage, with many questioning why charges were brought in the first place. Brown was later released when Washington DC superior court judge Carmen McLean dismissed the charge for lack of probable cause.
In response to the incident, an MPD spokesperson said they are investigating the matter and will independently review it with the US Attorney's Office. Meanwhile, the DHS claimed that the agent acted in self-defense after Brown attempted to run them down with his vehicle.
The incident highlights concerns about police accountability and the role of federal agents in law enforcement. As one thing is clear - there was a deliberate attempt by the driver to evade capture - but it is equally clear now that internal considerations took precedence over transparency and justice.
The incident involved Phillip Brown, who was stopped by officers after switching lanes at high speed while the police were patrolling with agents from various agencies. According to officer Jason Sterling's affidavit, he and another officer, Divonnie Powell, noticed Brown driving normally but thought he might try to flee. They moved out of the way to allow federal partners to stop the vehicle.
However, when Sterling wrote up his report, he omitted any mention of the shooting. Instead, he stated that the driver had "disregarded" orders and attempted to flee, without mentioning the agent's actions. Similarly, Powell's incident report made no reference to the shooting either.
It's unclear why Brown was charged with a felony for fleeing from law enforcement when two bullets went through his passenger seat and another tore near his jacket's collar - incidents that occurred before he was even stopped by police.
The officer's admission raises questions about internal investigations into police shootings. According to Brown's lawyer, Quo Mieko S Judkins, the decision not to include details of the shooting in Sterling's report suggests an internal investigation had already been launched.
Judkins claimed that neither she nor the US attorney deciding whether to file charges against Brown had seen body-camera footage from the incident - which was later described as "locked down". The prosecutor then offered Brown a plea deal, despite not knowing about the federal agent's actions. Judkins argued that this was coercion and that there was no meaningful consideration given.
The case has sparked outrage, with many questioning why charges were brought in the first place. Brown was later released when Washington DC superior court judge Carmen McLean dismissed the charge for lack of probable cause.
In response to the incident, an MPD spokesperson said they are investigating the matter and will independently review it with the US Attorney's Office. Meanwhile, the DHS claimed that the agent acted in self-defense after Brown attempted to run them down with his vehicle.
The incident highlights concerns about police accountability and the role of federal agents in law enforcement. As one thing is clear - there was a deliberate attempt by the driver to evade capture - but it is equally clear now that internal considerations took precedence over transparency and justice.
just saw this thread from like a week ago and i gotta say, the fact that these cops were told not to include details of the shooting in their reports is super sus 
i mean, what's the real reason they're hiding it? was it just an "internal investigation" or is there something more going on here? 
and btw, why did the prosecutor offer Brown a plea deal without even seeing the bodycam footage? that sounds like a total miscarriage of justice to me 
. And then to make matters worse, the prosecutor offers him a plea deal without knowing what really happened? That's a classic case of coercion. The whole thing reeks of a cover-up and it's a slap in the face to Brown who was already traumatized by the experience 
. We need some real transparency and accountability here 
.
. It's crazy how an officer could just leave out details of a shooting in their report, especially when it involves a federal agent. Like, what's the protocol here? Were they worried about getting in trouble for covering up something? 
.
This whole situation is super shady, imo. I mean, think about it - two bullets went through the passenger seat and another near the jacket... that's a pretty clear case of use of force by the agents. And now they're saying Brown was just trying to flee? It's like they're covering their own backsides instead of being honest about what happened.
it's not like he was just driving slow or something. And now that the officer is admitting to leaving out details of the shooting in his report, it's clear that internal politics got in the way of transparency.
And then when they realized there wasn't enough evidence to actually convict him, just dismiss the charges. It's just not right.
after Brown was already being chased by police for doing something that might have seemed reckless, but didn't seem like a death wish or anything? I don't buy it. This whole thing reeks of a cover-up.
. i mean, you've got an officer saying they were told not to include details of a shooting in their report, which makes me wonder what's really going on behind the scenes. it seems like there was already some kind of investigation or internal review that led to Brown being charged with a felony for something that wasn't even his fault. and then we've got this huge discrepancy about whether or not federal agents were involved in the incident... it's just so frustrating when you can't get straight answers 
. i'm glad the judge eventually dismissed the charge, but it raises some serious questions about police accountability and transparency.
. That's just a bunch of BS. If they were really that concerned about transparency, they would have let us see what was going on. But no, instead we're left with speculation and excuses from the authorities.
. The police and the government are always more concerned with protecting themselves than with doing what's right. It's time we started calling them out on it 
.
But for Phillip Brown, it was just another day on the road before he got pulled over by cops.
What is wrong with these people?! It's like they were more worried about saving face than doing what's right. I mean, who wouldn't try to flee when their car is being shot at?!
. We need more transparency and accountability in our law enforcement system, not less. And can we please get some answers about what really went down on that day?! 
and it's crazy that Brown was charged with a felony for trying to escape when there were two bullets going through his seat 
and another one close to his jacket... it's not even like he tried to flee, but rather the agents were just trying to stop him.
. the whole thing highlights how internal politics can get in the way of justice.
This whole thing is just mind-blowing. I mean, can you imagine if you were driving along, minding your own biz, and then suddenly you're stopped by cops with federal agents lurking around? And then, to make matters worse, one of the officers involved in the stop is now saying that he was explicitly told not to mention a shooting during the traffic stop?