State Sen. Darius Brown (D - Wilmington) is cleared of misdemeanor charges related to his arrest back in May.
Brown was brought to trial on two charges, offensive touching and disorderly conduct, for allegedly hitting a woman in the face with a glass at a restaurant in Talleyville.
According to the News Journal, the jury found Brown not guilty on both counts. Brown’s attorney argued the woman’s testimony was contradictory, and was also the only direct evidence of the blow.
While Brown won't serve jail time, he still faces possible consequences in the General Assembly.
In a statement Thursday, Senate President Pro Temp David Sokola (D - Newark) says “What remains clear, however, is that Sen. Brown has been involved in multiple confrontations in public spaces over the last year, regardless of whether that behavior rose to the level of criminal conduct.”
Brown was also accused of getting into a verbal altercation with another State Rep. Melissa Minor-Brown in November.
As a result of these altercations, Brown has been removed from multiple committee, including the Senate Judiciary Committee (of which he was chair) and his seat on the Bond Bill Committee.
Sokola says state lawmakers should hold themselves to a higher level of accountability than others and the Senate Rules and Ethics Committee will review the allegations against Brown in the coming weeks.
Roman Battaglia is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms.
