Shane Lee Brown, a 25-year-old Black man, is suing two police agencies in Nevada after he said he was misidentified and held in jail for six days, the Associated Press reports. According to the lawsuit, Brown was misidentified when police were looking for a 51-year-old white man named Shane Neal Brown.

The 51-year-old, first convicted of a felony in 1994, was sought on an arrest warrant issued in Las Vegas in Nov. 2019, as he was accused of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Shane Lee Brown said he was misidentified and arrested during a traffic stop in Henderson, Nevada, in Jan. 2020. The 25-year-old did not have his identification while being arrested, but he provided his name, social security number and social security card, the complaint stated.

“During his unlawful detention, Shane Lee Brown repeatedly explained to numerous unknown Henderson police officers and supervisors that he was not the 49-year-old white ‘Shane Brown’ who was the subject of the felony warrant,” the lawsuit stated, according to 8 News Now.

Shane Lee Brown spent six days in two separate jails. The misidentified man, who spent time at the Henderson jail and Clark County Detention Center, was released after a judge ordered him to be freed. A few days later, Las Vegas police learned that the real suspect was in custody in San Bernardino County, California.


Attorney E. Brent Bryson said officers failed to perform “any due diligence” when they misidentified his client. According to Bryson, police did not compare photos or check dates of birth, fingerprints, criminal identification numbers and physical descriptions. 

“Had any of the LVMPD police or corrections officers performed any due diligence, such as comparing Shane Lee Brown’s booking photo against the existing mug shot belonging to the world, white ‘Shane Brown’ named in the warrant, they would have easily determined that Shane Lee Brown has been misidentified as the subject of the warrant,” the lawsuit stated.

The younger Shane Brown has brought accusations of civil rights violations, false imprisonment, negligence and other wrongful conduct by Las Vegas and Henderson police, as well as their top officials. He seeks $500,000 in damages.