ROANOKE, Va. – The Roanoke Police Department is conducting an internal investigation of a controversial arrest that went viral on social media.
A video of the March 18 encounter between police and 24-year-old Anton Brown received millions of views on sites like TikTok.
In response, RPD released body camera video of the encounter in “the interest of transparency and fostering trust.”
One law enforcement expert told 10 News that while the video explains a lot, there’s context that’s missing that will likely become clear as the investigation unfolds.
The video shows an officer tackling Brown and placing him in what Brown’s mother, who witnessed the arrest, called a chokehold and what police called a seat belt hold.
“They want to look at what force was used, and was it excessive force? Was it justifiable force? And I think there’s a lot of things that are going to go into this,” said Dr. Tod Burke, a criminologist and former police officer. “Could the officers have handled this a little bit differently to accomplish whatever it is they were going to accomplish?”
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Police said Brown kept driving after they initiated a traffic stop and refused to comply with commands once he parked the vehicle, walking toward a group with a bag.
“I don’t know really what was said prior to the tackling. Did the individual make any, you know, pose a threat to the officers through other people? From the video, it doesn’t look that way,” Burke said. “It looks like the officers just kind of got out of the car approach of a tackled him to the ground to subdue him. That’s not typical of a traffic stop.”
He faces a charge of obstruction and resistance without force and is expected to be in court on April 15.
“In other words, the person wasn’t following the commands. Now, there’s a number of reasons why an individual may not follow commands. You know, police officers have a lot to deal with. They have to make some split-second decisions,” Burke said.
Brown’s mother, Bernadette Lark, said her son has had sensorineural hearing loss since birth - a disability he has worked to overcome. Burke says that may also factor into the case.
Lark told 10 News she’s been in touch with city leaders as she continues to demand accountability.
