Community members help broker murder suspect's surrender at Seattle church

Fearful of mounting community anger, the man accused of fatally punching a 60-year-old Rainier Beach man last week turned to the NAACP, a black community newspaper and a Seattle church to broker his surrender.

Brian Keith Brown, 28, was greeted by Seattle police officials at Mount Zion Baptist Church Wednesday afternoon after they were contacted by several people who intervened on Brown's behalf, including his aunt, a minister and Chris Bennett, editor and publisher of the Seattle Medium.

Seattle police Director John Hayes said that Brown surrendered peacefully and had a chance to talk with clergy and even join hands in prayer with police, his relatives and others before his surrender.

"What I liked about the whole thing is everyone felt OK. It was true collaboration at its best," said Hayes, who also was there when Brown was arrested.

Brown, of Renton, is charged with second-degree murder for knocking James Paroline to the ground with a single punch July 9 after he intervened in a dispute Paroline was having with three girls, authorities said. Paroline was tending plants inside a traffic circle near his house when the girls confronted him about several traffic cones he had set up in the street to protect his hose from passing vehicles. Paroline died a day later.

Kathleen Paroline, the slain man's sister, said Wednesday that the family was "immensely relieved that he [Brown] did give himself up.

"We hope his motivation is remorse," she said from Paroline's home.

Brown's mother, Brenda Battiste, of Sacramento, Calif., said that she had spoken with her son Wednesday shortly before he turned himself in to police. She said he told her that he was sorry for punching Paroline. She said he was scared and upset that the incident has been painted as racially motivated by many in the community.

Brown is black and Paroline was white.

"He's been praying continuously and stressing a lot. I know he never wanted to do anything like that to anybody," Battiste said.

Battiste said she left a message with the NAACP on Tuesday, asking for help. When she didn't hear back, Brown's aunt contacted Bennett of the Seattle Medium newspaper on Wednesday morning.

"They stated that they had access to Brian Brown," Bennett said. "They said the relative was afraid and scared of law enforcement given the history of racial profiling and things that have happened."

Bennett said he asked Mount Zion Minister Phyllis Beaumonte to assist with the surrender. Brown and his family arrived at the Central Area church around noon and the officers and mediators tried to work quickly and quietly so as not to disturb a funeral going on inside, Bennett said.

"All we wanted to do was to make sure he was able to turn himself in peacefully and his civil rights would be protected," Bennett said. "I don't think it [the fight with Paroline] was racially motivated, but it escalated into something tragic."

Brown has prior convictions for third-degree assault, drug possession, obstructing a law-enforcement officer, theft and criminal trespassing. He pleaded guilty to assault in 2005 and was sentenced to four months in jail after he attacked a woman in her Renton apartment. The victim said Brown choked and head-butted her after Brown and his girlfriend showed up at the woman's apartment, according to court charging papers. He also has been convicted of drug possession, theft and criminal trespassing.

A video of last week's attack, shot by an unidentified neighbor and reviewed by police, showed Paroline attempting to ignore the girls after they began yelling at him to move the traffic cones near the traffic circle at South Cooper Street and 61st Avenue South, charging papers said. The girls can be heard on the video claiming that Paroline had squirted them with water and had assaulted one of them. However, that cannot be seen on the video, charging papers said.

According to court charging papers one of the girls threw a jug of water at Paroline.

Brown told his mother that Paroline had assaulted the girls. Police say there is no evidence that any of the girls were struck by Paroline.

Battiste said her son told her one of the girls ran to get him at a friend's house, and he drove to the traffic circle.

Charging papers said it appeared Paroline was not attempting to defend himself when confronted by Brown, who police say "sucker-punched" Paroline.

Neighbors expressed relief Wednesday at news of Brown's arrest. Paroline's death was the catalyst for a community meeting Tuesday that drew more than 200 Rainier Beach residents who demanded more policing in their neighborhood.

William Martin, 47, a longtime neighbor of Paroline's, said Brown's surrender should have come sooner.

"But he had to do it on his own conscience," he said.

Seattle Times news researcher Miyoko Wolf contributed to this report. Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com