Today, we are breaking down the February 16 use-of-force incident out of Baltimore County involving Officer Derek Hadel and 56-year-old Samuel Brown.
Let me be straight from the jump. A man is dead. A father of six. His community loved him and his family is grieving. That is real and it matters. He is also a man who was found asleep at a stoplight at 3:20 in the morning, bloodshot eyes, smelling of alcohol, blocking a travel lane. Both of those things are true at the same time.
What the Officer Knew Before Contact
This call came out as a welfare check. 3:20 in the morning, someone sitting at a light too long. No weapon reported. No threats. But any cop who has spent time on patrol knows what that call usually means at that hour — a drunk driver. Officer Derek Hadel, a nine-year veteran with Baltimore County PD, rolled up solo. Legal stop. Legal detention. He was good to go on why he was there.
The Bodycam — What It Shows
The first 50 seconds of the video have no audio. That is a bodycam buffer issue — standard. We do not know exactly what was said during that window and we may never know. What we can see is Hadel speaking to Brown through the car door. At some point, Hadel closes the car door. I’ll be honest — I have a question about that. If he had already observed bloodshot eyes and smelled alcohol, he probably should have been getting Brown out and detaining him rather than putting him back in the vehicle. But it doesn’t change what happens next.
Brown comes out of that car and he is confronting this officer. Once he’s out, everything else is secondary. This is a legal stop and a legal detention. And now the suspect is going non-compliant.
Strike one: you’ll see Hadel reach out and try to create space as Brown walks up on him. He puts his arm out — that’s to let him know to step back. Brown smashes his hand down. That’s physical contact number one.
Hadel keeps giving orders. Get in your car. Get in your car. Non-compliant. Strike two: Brown swats his hand down again.
Here’s what I want you to understand. What would have kept this man from being hit in the face, falling, hitting his head, and dying eleven days later? Complying with a legal order. Get in your car, sir. That’s it. You cannot put your hands on a police officer. You cannot ignore legal orders while you are detained. When you do, they are legally authorized to use force to overcome your resistance. That is exactly what you see here.
Hadel gave him the one-two. He did not pull his baton. He did not pepper spray him. He did not tase him. He used personal weapons — his hands. And then something tragic happened. Brown fell backward and his head struck the pavement. That head strike is the injury that killed him. It is a tragedy. It is also 100 percent the result of Brown’s decision to put his hands on that officer twice.
After Brown went down, Hadel called for a medic immediately. He provided aid. He stayed on scene. He told arriving officers about the laceration on the back of Brown’s head. That is what you do.
My Assessment: This Force Gets Cleared
Based on the bodycam, the legal standard, and 20 years reading these situations — this use of force is justified. Graham v. Connor tells us you judge the officer from the perspective of a reasonable officer on scene, at the moment of the threat. Not in hindsight. Not from a courtroom. Solo officer. 3 AM. Impaired subject who exited the vehicle, approached the officer, and made physical contact twice after being given repeated lawful commands. Force to overcome that resistance is authorized under the law. Period.
The tragic outcome — Brown’s head hitting the pavement — is a medical consequence of the fall, not an additional use of force. The punch did not kill him. The pavement did. And the reason he hit the pavement is because he chose to put his hands on that officer.
Taking on the Claims
Claim 1: He was just sleeping in his car. He didn’t do anything wrong.
He may have been sleeping, but he was blocking a lane of traffic at 3 AM, most likely impaired — which is what brought the police there in the first place. And it does not really matter why the initial contact was made as long as it was legal, and it was. The reason this ended the way it did is not the stop. It is Brown swiping away and hitting the officer’s hands twice. Sleeping in your car ends the second you put your hands on an officer.
Claim 2: Two arm swats don’t justify two punches that killed a man.
Officers are not required to be hit, injured, or to continue absorbing resistance. They are authorized to use force to get compliance. Period. The outcome is tragic, but the force was not excessive. Brown hit his head — a tragic injury occurred as a result of his own choices. The department’s de-escalation policy? Hadel spoke to him for at least 50 seconds before Brown ever got out of that car. He pushed with his hand twice before he ever threw a punch. De-escalation ends when a suspect puts his hands on a cop.
The Bottom Line
Officer Hadel responded to a welfare check and found himself alone at 3 AM with a physically resistant subject who had initiated contact twice and refused every command. He used force to overcome that resistance. The Maryland OAG’s Independent Investigations Division is conducting its investigation. That process will run its course.
But based on what that tape shows — this clears.
The bodycam exists. The OAG released it. Watch it yourself. Draw your conclusions from the evidence — not the press conference.
