What to Know
- A former police officer who was caught on store surveillance video slamming a man’s head against a plexiglass panel has been indicted by a Delaware grand jury on charges involving excessive force.
- The indictment issued Monday accuses 27-year-old Samuel Waters of six misdemeanors and two felonies in connection with two separate incidents in September.
- In the other incident, the former Wilmington police officer is charged with third-degree assault and official misconduct for allegedly pressing his nightstick against the neck of a noncombative domestic violence suspect as another officer was preparing to handcuff him.
A former police officer who was caught on a Wilmington store surveillance video slamming a man’s head against a plexiglass panel has been indicted by a Delaware grand jury on charges involving excessive force.
The indictment issued Monday accuses former Wilmington police officer Samuel Waters, 27, of six misdemeanors and two felonies in connection with two separate incidents in September.
In the first, Waters allegedly pressed his nightstick against the back of a man’s neck as another officer tried to handcuff him after responding to a domestic violence call. Prosecutors said the suspect was bent over the back of a vehicle, had his hands behind his back, and was not combative or violent with the arresting officers.
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Nine days later, on Sept. 21, Waters confronted another man, Dwayne Brown, at a convenience store in south Wilmington after police received a call from a nearby day care facility about a man repeatedly harassing employees. Police reportedly were told that the man had been at the day care several times, and that his conduct included yelling and making sexual comments to staff members.
Waters is seen on store surveillance video approaching Brown, speaking to him briefly, then grabbing his arm and turning him toward the plexiglass panel as Brown turns his head and talks to him. Waters then grabs Brown, shoves him against the panel, and slams his head into it twice before they both fall to the floor.
Waters is charged with third-degree assault and official misconduct, both misdemeanors, for each incident.
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He also faces felony charges of perjury and tampering with a public record in connection with the incident involving Brown, as well as a misdemeanor charge of falsifying a business record. Prosecutors allege that Waters falsely stated in an arrest warrant and police report that he “immediately recognized” Brown from “numerous law enforcement actions/shared intelligence from other officers,” but that he later admitted he was not familiar with Brown and did not know him by name.
They also said Waters’ description of the use of force against Brown is inconsistent with the video surveillance, and that he omitted relevant facts in his police report.
“The evidence in this case shows a clear and disturbing pattern of violence and deception,” Attorney General Kathy Jennings said in a prepared statement, adding that investigators discovered that Waters regularly failed to turn on his body camera.
None of the charges against Waters carries any mandatory prison sentence, although he could face a maximum sentence of 13 years if convicted on all charges.
John Malik, an attorney representing Waters, did not immediately respond to an email message.
Brown has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Waters, whose attorneys have filed a motion to dismiss.
Waters was fired from the police department effective Jan. 5.
Waters previously worked for the Cecil County Sheriff’s Department in Maryland but was fired in February 2017 after making an obscene hand gesture at another motorist after a near-collision while he was in uniform and driving to work.
