An unexpected incident evocative of an episode of the Fox series “Empire” transpired in Allentown City Hall involving one of its employees recently. LaTarsha Brown, the central figure in this bizarre sequence, was accused of concocting a purported hate crime in January. The truth of the matter is now beginning to unfurl. The saga began on the day of March 24, when Allentown’s Chief of Police, Charles Roca, declared that charges had been brought against Brown for falsification or tampering with material evidence and misleading law enforcement.
This surprising development emerges a scant two months after Brown stirred the pot, alleging that a noose had been intentionally placed on her office desk situated within City Hall. The distressing allegations in January had civil rights organizations and multiple government entities reeling. It was initially reported by The Morning Call that a comprehensive investigation into the accusation was already in progress.
Pas Simpson, a well-known community activist, became involved in the case, insisting that the Federal Bureau of Investigation supersede the Allentown Police Department’s ongoing inquiry. During a rally in January, he firmly voiced his belief that a federal intervention was requisite given the gravity of the purported hate crime.
However, the subversion in the narrative occurred when the accused in the hate crime incident turned out to be Brown herself. As part of the inquiry process, all employees with access to the particular floor where the alleged noose was discovered were asked to provide their DNA samples. A shocking revelation came forth during a public press statement that all employees complied, aside from Brown herself.
Though initially extrapolated as cooperative, Brown first sprang a surprise when she sought that the investigation be put to a halt. This was a turning point, marking the beginning of the crumbling facade of Brown’s proclaimed allegations. In the process of the investigation, she was suspected of providing inscrutable expressions and imprecise answers to the police.
Compounding the issue further, when Brown’s DNA was eventually obtained via a court-issued order, an incriminating match was revealed. By March 10, the findings of the investigation revealed that the DNA on the swabs taken from both the external and knotted portions of the alleged noose coincidentally matched that of Brown. Not a single other sample of the tested DNA corresponded.
Moreover, law enforcement officials were unable to correlate anyone present in the office’s security footage with the alleged hate crime which inadvertently led investigators back to Brown. This intensified the certainty of her involvement in the troubling incident, placing her in the centerfold of the case.
Allentown’s Mayor, Matt Tuerk, expressed shock about the charges brought against Brown. He further expressed perplexity at the fact that one of their own employees, in this case Brown, appeared to have manipulated the incident.
The specter of her supposed subterfuge draws parallels to the situation surrounding actor and musician Jussie Smollett. In 2020, Smollett declared that he had been physically assaulted by a group of racist white men. An official investigation later concluded that Smollett had fabricated the assault incident.
Despite challenging his guilty verdict, the actor was sentenced to a five-year term in prison. In the meantime, Brown has been allowed to retain her position as a City Hall employee alongside her responsibilities on the Allentown School Board.
She is due to appear for a preliminary courtroom hearing on the 22nd of April. The unfolding of this case continues to surprise and intrigue the city’s residents and the larger audience, as people wait to see how the tangled threads of truth will finally unravel.