Taylor Brown is in the wind as she failed to appear for her arraignment on two counts of Aggravated Battery of Police Officers.
19-year old African-American woman, Taylor Brown, failed to appear in court this morning at the Law & Justice Center in McLean County. Brown has been charged with two counts of Aggravated Battery of Police Officers over an incident that occurred at the Normal Police Department last year on February 9th, 2023. Brown was told to surrender her phone to police officers, though they had no warrant and articulated no probable cause. Officers attempted to seize the phone, and Ms. Brown resisted leading to a struggle. The videos of this incident have gone viral, with many condemning the police’s actions. Ms. Brown later filed a civil lawsuit against the Normal Police Department.
Brown was formally charged on January 17th, 2024, nearly a year after the initial incident. Charges were brought forth by Tom Brown (no relation) of the Office of the Illinois State’s Attorney Appellate Prosecutor. McLean County State’s Attorney Erika Reynolds recused her office’s involvement in the investigation last May over an unknown conflict of interest.
Brown failed to appear in court today. Special Prosecutor Brown stated during the hearing that police had attempted to deliver a summons to appear at Taylor Brown’s last known address in Normal, IL. According to Prosecutor Brown, the police are unaware of Taylor Brown’s current location. The special prosecutor requested a bench warrant be issued to bring Ms. Brown into custody. Judge Scott Black granted the request and issued an arrest warrant for Taylor Brown. Prosecutor Brown declined to comment on the case to Agitating Rising.
About an hour away, in the Federal Courthouse in Peoria, Ms. Brown missed another court hearing as well. The hearing was concerning Brown’s own civil rights attorneys withdrawing from her civil rights lawsuit against the Normal Police Department. US Magistrate Judge Jonathan E. Hawley granted the motion to withdraw by attorneys Abby Bakos and Ronak Maisuria. Both attorneys stated they did not know Brown’s current location. The court will now issue a notice to appear to Ms. Brown’s last known address. Brown will have 14 days to appear before Judge Hawley and explain the cause of her absence. If Ms. Brown does not appear, the civil rights lawsuit will be dropped.
Taylor Brown has not responded to multiple request by Agitation Rising for a comment. She is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
