n Tuesday, Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki called a video of a police officer slamming a man’s head into wall “deeply concerning,” echoing the sentiment expressed by a Wilmington Police Department spokesperson Monday. 

A Wilmington police officer is on administrative leave after what appeared to be a convenien…

“And, you know, I’d like to say so much more about these events like this, but we’re constrained,” Purzycki said. “There’s due process that everybody’s entitled to; we want to respect all the parties involved, and I’ll have much more to say at the appropriate time.”

The man seen in a surveillance video that began circulating on social media showing an officer attacking him during an altercation that ultimately led to the individual’s arrest was identified by police Monday–though they declined to identify the officer involved–and by Attorney Tom Neuberger Tuesday, who reached out to WDEL to confirm he’d been hired to represent Dwayne Brown. 

“Our team has been asked by Mr. Brown to be his lawyers, and we have launched our investigation into this brutal beating,” Neuberger said in emailed correspondence. “You can expect us to demand reforms in the useless Use of Force rules and training in the WPD which I have continually criticized since Jeremy McDole was killed by WPD.”

Wilmington Police spokesperson David Karas on Monday detailed charges brought against Brown stemming from the incident, which was related to an investigation into a suspect harassing workers at an area daycare, including the screaming of lewd comments at employees there. 

The charges against Brown were only announced after the video of Brown began circulating online, though the incident allegedly occurred on September 21, 2021. Wilmington Police regularly release details about investigations in the city a week or more after incidents are reported by them to have occurred. 

Brown 44, was ultimately charged with two counts harassment, resisting arrest, breach of release, and possession of marijuana, before being released on $4,100 unsecured bond, according to Karas. 

A vice chair for Delaware Democrats and executive committee member for the Delaware NAACP, activist Coby Owens called for the officer’s dismissal and arrest on Twitter while sharing the video in his feed. 

“This is the abuse that usually goes undocumented, that goes unseen, that everyday people have to see,” Owens said Monday. “Not every incident get the same attention as George Floyd or others where we lost life, but this is still police brutality at the end of the day.”

The Delaware Center for Justice also issued a statement Tuesday calling for answers following the release of the video, saying the “community is struggling to understand what caused this incident.”

“We have a lot of questions about how this is being handled, but primarily, why are we being given information on the victim of that attack,” said David Bever, executive director of DCJ. “Are the victim’s alleged infractions meant to be a justification for the officer’s behavior? The fact is, that was an act of violence…While we’re glad to see some steps were taken to remove that officer from the community, we need to see the body camera footage. We need an accounting of why that incident happened, what will happen next, what that officer’s record is, and what recourse the victim is entitled to. We’re calling on the Wilmington Police Department to provide these details straight away.”