Man shot 10 times by Spotsylvania deputy released from hospital to continue rehab at home
Isiah Brown (Image: The Cochran Firm)
SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTY, Va. (7News) — The attorney for Isiah Brown, the man shot 10 times by a Spotsylvania County deputy in April, says he has been discharged from the hospital.
Brown will continue to rehabilitate at home, says David Haynes of The Cochran Firm-DC.
Doctors told the family they found eight bullets in Brown’s body and two exit wounds, Haynes said. Two bullets had been previously removed.
Brown was shot April 21 after the Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office got a call about what was originally called a domestic disturbance. The same deputy who shot Brown had driven him home earlier that night after he had car trouble, Haynes said.
The Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office released a 10-minute long video two days after the shooting, which included a statement from Sheriff Roger Harris, a transcribed 911 call, and the body camera footage.
Brown called 911 after getting into a fight with his brother. On the call, his brother can be heard in the background, asking if he called the police again. Authorities said this was around 3:18 a.m. on Catharpin Road.
During the 911 call, Brown told the operator he needed to get to his keys so he can get into his car, which was in the backyard. The 911 operator asked why he needed the keys if the car was towed and in the backyard. Neither the sheriff's office nor Virginia State Police gave context as to why his car was towed.
Over the course of the call, Brown threatened to kill his brother. The operator kept him on the line. There is conflicting information during the call on whether Brown had a gun or not.
The 911 call continued as Brown walked outside. With sirens approaching, the 911 operator told Isaiah to put his hands up.
This is where the 911 call overlaps with the body cam video. In the recording, the deputy got out of his car and started yelling at Brown.
"Show me your hands! Show me your hands now!" The deputy radioed in he had one person at gunpoint, then yelled, "Drop the gun!"
The deputy then radioed in that Brown had a gun to his head. After another minute of ordering him to drop the gun, the deputy yelled at Brown to not walk toward him.
Haynes said Brown didn’t have a gun but “the officer mistook a cordless house phone for a gun.”
Seven shots can be heard on the body camera footage. When the deputy went to render aid, he described the injuries to his command, saying, "Several gunshots to the abdomen, one gunshot to the left thigh, two gunshots to the side."
The video cuts off shortly after the deputy started helping Brown. In the 911 call, Brown's brother arrived at the scene; the deputy told him to grab a medical kit from his vehicle. The call ends there.
After the body cam video was released, Haynes issued the following statement:
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 Isiah Brown was completely avoidable. In the 911 call, Isiah 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.
Isiah 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 Isiah did anything other than comply with dispatch’s orders and raised his hands with the phone in his hand as instructed.
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.
Haynes filed a Virginia Freedom of Information Act request on May 4, asking for the public release of the full transcript of the call between dispatch and the officer.
Haynes also asked for the identity of the deputy involved. He said the deputy should be fired and criminally charged in the case.
Haynes said a GoHelpMe page has been started by the family to help with significant medical expenses.