VIDEO: Spotsylvania County sheriff’s office releases body cam video of deputy shooting man in roadway
SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTY, Va. - The Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office has released body camera video after a deputy shot and severely injured a man on Catharpin Road.
Virginia State Police are investigating the shooting. According to state police and the sheriff’s office, 32 year old Isaiah Brown called 911 at around 3:00 A.M. Wednesday morning reporting a domestic dispute with his brother.
In the 911 audio call you can hear Brown ask his brother for his gun and tell the dispatcher he’s going to kill his brother. Minutes later a deputy arrives and finds Brown walking outside.
The deputy yells, "show me your hands" and "drop the gun" several times.
Brown is still on the phone with 911 and the dispatcher can also be heard telling him to put his hands in the air.
About 30 seconds after the deputy arrives, you can hear at least seven shots being fired. After he fires the shots the deputy calls for backup and renders medical aid.
FOX 5 has learned from the family that earlier in the morning, Brown was driven home by that same deputy after his car broke down.
"He told me, ‘your brother is not in trouble. His car broke down and he told me to take him here," Browns brother, Tazmon Sims said.
Download the FOX 5 DC News App for Local Breaking News and Weather
The family says Brown suffers from mental illness and that the officer had no reason to shoot him.
"They had obviously spent some time together on the ride home. I know he didn’t go outside trying to make a big deal and he got shot 10 times by one, not two officers," Sims said.
In a statement, Brown’s attorney David Hynes with the Cochran Firm said:
"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. Isaiah was on the phone with 911 at the time of the shooting and the officer mistook a cordless house phone for a gun. There is no indication that Isaiah did anything other than comply with dispatch’s orders and raised his hands with the phone in his hand as instructed."
The Brown family says he has 10 gunshot wounds but the sheriff’s office says he was not shot that many times.
On Friday, activists gathered outside the sheriff’s office where Sheriff Roger Harris made a brief statement.
READ MORE: 2 more charged, 1 cleared in Spotsylvania County corpse defilement investigation
"I support you. I support the cause. When you see the video, the deputy actually saved this gentleman’s life," Harris said.
Harris would not answer questions.
Brown is in critical condition and the deputy who shot him was placed on administrative leave.