Sergeant accused of stealing injured journalist’s gear during Newark protest

A veteran Essex County prosecutor’s sergeant has been charged with stealing a photojournalist’s camera bag containing roughly $10,000 in equipment while the journalist lay injured in a hospital after a protest at Newark’s Delaney Hall.

Sergeant Darryl Brown, 43, of Sparta Township, was charged by complaint summons with third-degree theft following an investigation by the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability’s Corruption Bureau. The charge carries a potential sentence of three to five years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000.

The case began on May 30 during a protest outside the jail.

The journalist, whose name has not been released, suffered an injury at the scene and dropped a bag containing cameras and gear. Emergency responders took the journalist to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Here is where the story takes a turn that would strain the credibility of a dime novel.

After receiving treatment, the journalist used an Apple AirTag hidden inside the bag to track its location. The signal led to a house on a quiet quarter-acre lot in Sparta

Brown resides in a $633,600, 2,296 sq. ft. single-family home with 4 bedrooms and two baths built in 1978 on a quarter-acre lot.

Darryl Brown has no political party affiliation, but he is registered to vote in Sparta Township, Sussex County, a neighborhood where Donald Trump drew 58 percent of the vote in 2016 and 54 percent in 2024. He cast ballots in the November elections in 2016, 2020, 2024, and 2025.

The AirTag later turned up miles away, separated from the rest of the gear, discovered by a friend of the journalist. But the original destination was Brown’s front door.

Investigators say Brown was working the protest that day in his official capacity.

His own body-worn camera, the same device meant to document police accountability, allegedly shows him handling a dark bag matching the journalist’s description.

On June 3, investigators served a search warrant at Brown’s residence. Inside, they found several of the journalist’s missing items. Some still carried labels bearing the victim’s name and phone number.

Attorney General Jennifer Davenport announced the charge with the sort of plain language that suggests she has run out of patience.

“When an officer does what is alleged in this case, it is a disservice to the profession and the public,” Davenport said. “Let me be clear: absolutely no one is above the law.”

Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II said Brown has been suspended without pay. “Conduct that undermines the public’s trust in law enforcement is unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” Stephens said.

While they lack of party affiliation, there are signs that the Browns are politically connected. Congressman Tom Kean named Officer Alyse Brown from the Sparta Township Police Department as his Law Enforcement Hometown Hero for the week of June 12, 2024.

“Officer Brown has taken the initiative to engage with youth by holding ‘Painting in the Park’ on Saturday mornings with children and their parents. She is known in her community for carrying a special tool called, ‘Alyse’s Treasure Chest.’ This is a box loaded with items she purchased that could be handed out to a child who may have witnessed or been directly involved in an adverse experience,” said Kean. “Officer Brown goes above and beyond in her field and I thank Alyse for her dedication to serving our community.”

Brown’s personal history adds another layer. His wife, Alyse W. Brown, a former East Orange police sergeant, filed a notice of claim in January 2023 stating she planned to sue the city. She wrote that she became “a direct target of retaliation” after writing up a subordinate connected to Mayor Ted Green and documenting what she called “political interference” she witnessed as an officer.

She also said rumors and harassment cost her job and broke up her marriage. That claim was later resolved through a workers’ compensation settlement approved by the East Orange City Council on Jan. 8, 2024.

Alyse Brown’s attorney claimed that she took a job with the Sparta Township Police Department at a loss of $40,000 in salary, after an East Orange police detective started a flase rumor that she engaged in an affair with another officer there.

The criminal charge against Sergeant Brown is merely an accusation. He is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law. Defense counsel had not been identified as of this writing.

The alleged theft happened during over two weeks of nonstop protests outside Delaney Hall, where demonstrators frequently clashed with ICE agents and state and local law enforcement, and the photojournalist was injured there while covering the protests.