Hayward Leslie Brown was called a mad-dog killer, accused of being a stickup kid, characterized as a Robin Hood, and described as a political victim of alleged police fascism – a symbol of what some police were capable of doing. Some saw him as a criminal, others as a victim.

​

Born in 1954 in Detroit to a father who worked at the Ford Rouge Plant and a mother who was described as hardworking, Brown fell prey to the streets. By the time he was 18, he had been arrested 14 times. Once he became an adult in 1972, he was arrested twice more. In June of that year, he was arrested for armed robbery and in September for carrying a concealed weapon.

Brown later admitted that he robbed drug houses in the early 1970s. Brown stated, 'Yeah, I did it. We kept the money and we flushed the stuff.' Brown’s family argued that Brown was simply trying to harass and rid the community of drug dealers. The Highland Park Police agreed that Brown, who at one time attended Highland Park Community College, did harass drug dealers. The police alleged his motive was not heroic; rather, Brown did the robberies to obtain quick money and drugs that were resold for profit.

​

On December 4, 1972, tragedy occurred. On that day, Brown was in a Volkswagen with his cousin, Vietnam War veteran John Boyd, and Mark Bethune on the city’s west side. They were planning to rob a heroin drug dealer when Detroit police officers either tried to pull them over or forced them off the road. The team of four police officers was in an unmarked car and was a part of Detroit’s notorious STRESS (Stop The Robberies Enjoy Safe Streets) unit. This plainclothes unit often acted as decoys to lure muggers into action. STRESS had the reputation of violently violating blacks' civil rights.

​

STRESS claimed they tried to pull over Bethune, Boyd, and Brown, and the trio responded by firing on them. The officers later admitted they had no reason to pull the three over. Brown claimed the officers ran them off the road, and at the time, they did not know they were police officers. According to the police officers, Bethune shot first, but Brown claimed the police fired first. In any event, gunfire was exchanged, and the four police officers were wounded. Bethune, Boyd, and Brown managed to escape, and an 86-day manhunt for them ensued. The manhunt was described as intense and highly emotional, receiving widespread media attention.

​

During this manhunt, the Detroit Police Department was accused of violating the civil rights of innocent people. In the middle of December, the family members of Bethune, Boyd, and Brown filed a lawsuit against the Detroit Police Department to prevent the police from harassing them. Brown’s mother at one point even showed the Detroit Police Department how to get into her house if she was not at home to prevent them from continuing to break down her door. Four years later, in 1976, city attorneys admitted there had been illegal behavior on the part of the police department and authorized the city to pay $85,000 to 15 people who sued the city after their homes were illegally searched.

​

On December 27, 1972, two other STRESS officers were staking out a location where they suspected Bethune, Boyd, and Brown were hiding. They eventually spotted the three men, and another shootout occurred. This time, Officer Robert Bradford was killed, and his partner, Robert Dooley, was left shot, crawling on the street, pleading for his life. Again, the trio escaped.

On January 12, 1973, the three firebombed a Planned Parenthood clinic near Wayne State University. It was suggested they firebombed the clinic as a distraction from their real intent – to rob the bank located near the clinic. As the trio tried to escape, they again fired on police officers. Brown was captured, but Bethune and Boyd escaped to Atlanta. Brown, while in custody of police, confessed to the firebombing.

​

The next month while in Atlanta, Bethune and Boyd were involved in another shootout with police. A police officer went to question a man who was acting suspiciously. Before he could question him, the man pulled out a sawed-off carbine, and the officer drew his revolver and shot and killed the suspect. The officer heard shots being fired and turned to see another man with a pistol. He shot and killed the second man. One was Boyd, and the other man was Boyd’s half-brother Owen Winfield. Somehow, Bethune was wounded by Atlanta police before being trapped on a rooftop. He was found dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head.

​