Look at the breakaway switch. Typically they have one wire in and one wire out. It opens/closes the positive (power) to the brakes. The brakes are grounded to the frame. If you open the ground by switching the negative the brakes will not work in a breakaway situation. The pin will be pulled, the breakaway switch will close, power will be available to the brakes, but the circuit will be incomplete due to the open ground.
Some breakaway switches do have a negative/ground wire. The purpose of the negative/ground is for an indicator light on the breakaway switch and does not ground the brakes.