Rev. William Barber, Jr., head of the state NAACP, held a press conference in downtown Chapel Hill today, calling on the Chapel Hill Town Council to allow the organization to present Charles Brown’s side of the recent incident with Chapel Hill Police.

Brown was stopped by police June 1 while heading home from work. He was detained and searched on the basis that he resembled someone the police were looking for. Although he proved he was not the individual, he was held while police ran a check on him.

Last week, an internal police review of the matter cleared officers of any wrongdoing in the incident.

In addition to asking for a hearing before the council, Barber also called on the town to produce a review of police stops, including information on the location and race of the individuals stopped. He also wants to hear an update on a proposed civilian review board and a breakdown of black-owned businesses in Chapel Hill.

The Citizen will have a full story on the NAACP’s request and the town’s response in this Thursday’s paper.