Sterling Brown’s arrest is sparking a conversation across Milwaukee the country, the perception of black men and police interaction.
In a statement released Brown said is part:
“Situations like mine and worse happen every day in the black community. Being a voice and a face for people who won't be heard and don't have the same platform as I have is a responsibility I take seriously."
In the last month, cameras captured three violent arrests of black men in Milwaukee and Wauwatosa.
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Angela Lang, the executive director of BLOC, Black Leaders Organizing for Communities says the big problem is perception.
"I hope things change, I think quite frankly they need too, it's long overdue, we've seen this history for decades in Milwaukee," she said. "I think there's often times people they see black folks and see them automatically as criminals."
Earlier this year the ACLU released data analyzing the 196,000 traffic and pedestrian stops in Milwaukee from 2007 to 2015.
Data shows Milwaukee police stops made without reasonable suspicion required by law unfairly subject Black and Latino people to police encounters.
So with these stats, TODAY’S TMJ4 had one an important question for Lang.
"How do we get people who don't look like black or brown people to show empathy on circumstances like this?” Brandon Rook asked.
"To me it shouldn't take a lot, when people see injustice we need to speak out about it and I think people need to understand the role that they play and the privilege that they have and so people that don't look like you or I need to understand that privilege is very real."
TODAY’S TMJ4 spoke with another organization Safe and Sound and they believe police are listening to the community.
