Body cam footage of deputy shooting Isaiah Brown released
The victim’s attorney called the tragic shooting “completely avoidable.”
The Spotsylvania Sherriff’s Office has released the 911 call that led to the shooting of Isaiah Brown. Body cam footage by the unnamed officer who fired nearly a half-dozen shots at Brown was also released, however, the minute-long clip is extremely dark and aspects of it are blurred out.
The disturbing phone call and spotty footage still offer more details into what exactly took place on Wednesday, April 21. Brown’s family members, protestors and the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia demanded that the Spotsylvania Sherriff’s Office make both public.
The peculiar incident began around 2:30 a.m. when Brown, 32, received a ride home from a white deputy. Brown’s car broke down at a gas station on Route 3, NBC 4 Washington reports. A half-hour later, Brown calls 911 regarding a dispute with his brother. Within the call, Brown can be heard bickering with his brother over a gun. But it’s evident his main priority is getting back to his vehicle. As the dispatcher attempts to calm Brown down, he says, “I’m about to kill my brother.” “Don’t kill your brother,” the dispatcher replies. Brown says, “alright.”
“Somebody needs to come here real quick,” Brown says before sirens begin to become audible. The body cam footage begins when those same sirens reach Brown’s residence. After asking Brown to show him his hands, the deputy tells Brown to drop the gun. “He’s got a gun to his head,” he screams before firing seven shots at Brown. When Brown’s brother Tazmon comes outside to see what happened, the deputy asks him to get a medical kit out of his vehicle.
Family members say Brown is in the ICU and needed surgery for his multiple gunshot wounds. He was shot in the face, chest and pelvic area, but will likely survive according to NBC Washington.
“I’m still trying to figure out where he felt the threat at to feel the need to shoot,” Brown’s sister, Yolanda Brown, told NBC Washington.
Brown’s attorney, David Haynes of The Cochran Firm – D.C., released a statement once the video was released. “After viewing the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s deputy’s bodycam video and listening to the 911 call, it is evident that the tragic shooting of Isaiah Brown was completely avoidable. In the 911 call, Isaiah clearly told dispatch that he did not have a weapon more than 90 seconds before the deputy arrived. He told dispatch that he was walking away from the house and away from anyone else and was on the roadway by himself,” Haynes wrote. “The deputy in question made multiple, basic policing errors and violated established protocols. The deputy was situated nearly 50 feet from Isaiah, was never threatened and should not have discharged his weapon … Isaiah is now fighting for his life as a result of these completely avoidable errors by the deputy and dispatch.”
The sheriff’s office has placed the deputy on administrative leave while Virginia State Police investigate the matter further. A special prosecutor has also been assigned to the case.