Silver State Times

A 25-year-old Black man alleges in a federal civil rights lawsuit that an early 2020 traffic stop in suburban Las Vegas led to a weeklong jail stay because of mistaken identity on law enforcement's part.

Shane Lee Brown pursued legal action in federal court against two Nevada police departments that repeatedly mistaken the now-25-year-old for a similarly named white felon who’s double his age, according to NBC News.

E. Brent Bryson, Brown's attorney in the litigation, said the original petition has nothing to do with the arrest.

"They are not being sued because they arrested him for traffic (violations)," Bryson told NBC News. "They are being sued because they held him wrongfully and then was transported for a felony warrant which wasn't him."

Brown said in his civil rights lawsuit the Henderson and Las Vegas police departments held him in custody for almost a week in early 2020 because the agencies thought he was the then-49-year-old Shane Brown. The younger Shane Brown was arrested during a traffic stop Jan. 8, 2020.

USA Today reported that police didn't realize their error until they looked at mug shots on the day of Brown's court appearance.

Brown failed to show his driver's license to police but instead gave his name, his social security number and social security card, according to Brown’s suit. The officer who pulled Brown over ran a records check and mistook the plaintiff for a different Shane Brown.

"The unknown HPD Officers confused SHANE LEE Brown … with a different Shane Brown, a 49-year-old white man, who was the subject of an outstanding felony bench warrant for ownership or possession of firearm by prohibited person," court papers obtained by NBC News said.

A spokeswoman for the City of Henderson explained in a statement to the media that police lawfully arrested Brown "for driving with a suspended license and for a contempt of court, failure to pay warrant issued by Henderson Municipal Court."