No charges filed against Baltimore County Police officer in ‘Big Sam’ death

Six months after Baltimore County Police Officer Derek Hadel punched Samuel “Big Sam” Elsworth Brown Jr. during a February wellness check that led to Brown’s death, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said his office will not prosecute Hadel.

“After completing its investigation and evaluating all the available evidence, the Office of the Attorney General has determined that the subject officer did not commit a crime under Maryland law,” the attorney general’s office said in a statement Thursday.

According to the office’s declination report — an official document explaining why the attorney general decided not to pursue charges — there was not enough evidence to prove Hadel should be charged with assault, involuntary manslaughter or violating Maryland’s use-of-force statute.

“Based on the circumstances surrounding the subject officer’s use of force, we cannot prove that his decision to punch Mr. Brown was a disproportionate response to the threat presented,” the report says.

Body-camera footage released in March by the attorney general’s office shows Brown — who police said was found to have a blood alcohol level of 0.26 — swatting away Hadel’s arm twice and swinging at him.

Hadel then shouts as he punches Brown twice in the face: “Get in your f---ing car, sir! Get in your car!”

Brown, 56, is shown on the ground as a pool of blood gathers at the back of his skull. He died 11 days later on Feb. 27 after sustaining permanent brain damage.

Two weeks after the footage was released, Maryland’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled Brown’s death a homicide.

Police spokesperson Joy Lepola-Stewart said the department has seen the attorney general’s report.

“Officer Hadel remains a dedicated and valued member of the Baltimore County Police Department and is currently assigned to the Administrative and Technical Services Bureau,” she said.

Per department policy, Lepola-Stewart added, a separate administrative review is pending.

The case

At 3:20 a.m. on Feb. 16, after someone placed an anonymous call to police, Hadel found Brown asleep inside his SUV. The vehicle was blocking a travel lane at a Woodlawn intersection.

Hadel noticed Brown’s bloodshot eyes and the smell of alcohol on his breath, according to a partial police report provided by the Brown family attorney.

Body-camera video, which is initially silent, shows Hadel slam Brown’s SUV door shut. Brown then gets out of his car and approaches the 32-year-old officer.

Hadel puts his arm out and pushes Brown away as he walks closer. Brown swats down Hadel’s arm.

Hadel pushes Brown away. Brown swats his arm again and then swings at the officer but doesn’t make contact.

The nine-year veteran of the force then rapidly punches Brown in the face twice and then Brown falls to the ground, cracking his skull against the pavement.

As he handcuffs Brown and tries to give him aid, Hadel can be heard muttering to himself.

“Trying to help you out,” he says.

Use of force

In March, The Banner spoke with three use-of-force experts who, after viewing the body-camera footage, were divided about whether Brown posed a threat to Hadel. All agreed the situation could have been deescalated.

“Officers don’t get to use force just because someone hit them,” University of South Carolina law professor Seth Stoughton said. “Officers get to use force when there is an imminent threat.”

The attorney general office’s Independent Investigations Division wrote in its report that it interviewed Baltimore County Police defensive tactics instructor Officer Dennis Chesgreen. The 27-year law enforcement veteran was Hadel’s instructor when the latter attended the department’s training academy.

Chesgreen said “officers must consider that the longer a physical confrontation continues the greater the potential for harm to the officer or to others.”

According to the declination report, Brown refused to obey Hadel’s verbal commands, continued to approach the officer and slapped his hand twice. That presented “an imminent threat” to Hadel, who then acted in self-defense.

“We cannot prove that the use of force demonstrated a reckless disregard for Mr. Brown’s life,” the report said. “Nor can we prove, considering Mr. Brown’s proximity and assaultive conduct, that the use of force was more than reasonably necessary to stop the threat presented.”

Doug Jess, president of the county’s Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 4, wrote in an email Thursday that the union agrees with the attorney general’s findings, despite the unintended and tragic result.

“OFC Hadel acted consistently with his training and also immediately rendered aid,” Jess wrote. “I know him personally and he is a good person and officer.”

Hadel’s history

Before Brown’s death, Hadel was under investigation for police misconduct, according to department records.

Those records show the internal affairs division — which investigates officers for misconduct, corruption and policy violations — received a complaint after Hadel was involved in a November 2023 car crash. No one was hurt, and Hadel was assigned to counseling.

The state also cleared Hadel and four other officers of wrongdoing in an April 2024 pursuit on Interstate 695 that killed Dimeka Thornton.

Before both incidents, Hadel’s wife, Anna, filed a petition for protective order against her husband asking for temporary custody of the couple’s three children after an argument turned violent.

Court records show Hadel backed his wife into a corner and smashed his head against her forehead, causing her to fall, trip on one of their three children’s toy trucks and break a toe.

The case was dismissed after Anna Hadel skipped a scheduled court hearing three days later.

The attorney general’s office determined none of the officer’s previous disciplinary or criminal records was relevant to its investigation, the report said.

Known as a caregiver

Brown’s longtime friend and collaborator Roberto “DJ Quicksilva” Silva declined to comment, and family members were not immediately available to comment.

Family and friends previously described the West Baltimore native as a “go-to guy.” Silva said in March that Brown, the father of six, was known in the community as a caregiver — the kind of person who, if presented with a problem, responded quickly: “Lemme make a call.”

Brown’s daughter Deja Brown told journalists during a news conference this spring that her father’s death was devastating.

“He was loving. He was caring,” she said. “He was whatever we needed him to be, whenever we needed him to be it. And my family just prays that justice be served.”

In a written statement Thursday, attorney Billy Murphy said the Browns are “incredibly disappointed about this decision” and will give a detailed response next week.

This story has been corrected to say that Samuel “Big Sam” Elsworth Brown Jr. swatted at Officer Derek Hadel’s arm twice and that Hadel’s punch did not break Brown’s nose.