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The wrong man

Posted on September 24, 2009September 24, 2009 by Staff

By Rich Fowler
Staff Writer

He couldn’t let it go.

When Charles Brown was stopped, handcuffed, searched and held for more than 40 minutes by Chapel Hill police in a case of mistaken identity, he didn’t let it slide. The town manager’s office is investigating the matter, while Brown and the local NAACP await a response.

According to a complaint from Brown filed with the police department, the incident started at around 11:35 p.m. on June 1, while he was walking home down West Rosemary Street near Breadmen’s. Chapel Hill Police Officer David Funk drove past in his cruiser, and asked him to stop. Brown said he didn’t realize Funk was talking to him. Funk asked him to stop a second time.

Brown said he asked, “Stop for what? What did I do?”

According to Brown, Funk replied, “You better stop,” while putting his hand on his weapon. Then he said, “You are under arrest, Mr. Fearrington.” As he handcuffed Brown, he said, “You have warrants.”

Brown asked, “Are you sure you want to do this? My name is not Mr. Fearrington.”
Brown said Funk said nothing as he pushed him against the trunk of the cruiser and searched him. Throughout the time Brown was held, as many as six police officers were present.

“I told them what I was going to do,” Brown said. “I said, ‘OK, I’m going down tomorrow and filing a complaint, because this is not right.’”

“It wouldn’t have took two minutes for them to say, ‘OK, you’re not Mr. Fearrington, where’s your ID?’” Brown said. “My ID was in my pocket. Pull my ID out, ‘Okay sir, you can go home.’ None of that happened.”

According to a tape recording given to Brown by Chapel Hill Police Chief Brian Curran, at 12:14 a.m. a Chapel Hill police officer called the ID center and had Brown’s name checked in several criminal databases, 30 minutes after they knew they had the wrong man.

“Still a little disgusted about it, you know,” Brown said. “It shouldn’t have happened like it happened. It should have just been like 1, 2, 3, and I’m home and in bed.”

“I haven’t heard anything. Guess we’re still waiting. Maybe they’re still investigating, I guess. It shouldn’t take that long to investigate before they come up with a decision.”

“There is no update at this time,” said Catherine Lazorko, public information officer for the Town of Chapel Hill. It is an internal matter being taken very seriously, and as soon as there is something public to announce the mayor and council will announce that.”

Al McSurely, a local attorney who works with the Chapel Hill-Carrboro NAACP, said, “The NAACP’s position is that the ball is in their court, and that the letter [the town] sent us was more or less saying they had gotten [the complaint], they were looking at it, and they would get back.”

McSurely expects to hear from the town this week.

This incident is likely to renew calls for a police department citizen’s review board. The Town of Chapel Hill asked the state legislature for the power to create such a board, but the bill died in the General Assembly this summer.

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