Spotsylvania Deputy Shoots Man Who Called 911 For Help

SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTY, VA — A Spotsylvania man was hospitalized after being shot multiple times by a county deputy early Wednesday, authorities said. The shooting of the Black man by a white law enforcement officer spurred calls for more transparency and the public release of a police video of the encounter.

Virginia State Police Sgt. Brent Coffey said Isaiah L. Brown, 32, was being treated at Mary Washington Hospital for serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

According to police, Spotsylvania Sheriff’s deputies went to the 12200 block of Catharpin Road at 3:18 a.m. Wednesday in response to a 911 call regarding a domestic altercation. A deputy, whose name has not been released, saw Brown in the roadway walking away from his residence.

Brown is in intensive care at the hospital with multiple bullet wounds.

At the request of Spotsylvania Sheriff Roger Harris, the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations Police Shooting Investigation Team began an investigation into the incident. The Virginia State Police said Brown was unarmed when the deputy shot him.

LaBravia Jenkins, commonwealth’s attorney in Fredericksburg, was brought on to serve as the special prosecutor in the case, Coffey told The Free Lance-Star.

Harris released a video statement Friday night in which he said the special prosecutor advised his office to release the audio recording of the 911 call and the body camera footage of the deputy who shot Brown.

During the 911 call, Brown tells the dispatcher that he is "about to kill his brother." The dispatcher asks him why he would say that. She then asks him if he has a gun, and Brown says he does not have a gun. She then asks him if he has any weapons on him and Brown says no.

Brown tells the dispatcher that his brother is inside the house and that he is outside. At that point in the call, the sound of police sirens can be heard followed by the voice of the deputy.

In the video, the deputy can be heard saying “drop the gun.” The deputy then says “he’s got a gun to his head.”

Brown cannot be seen in the video when the deputy initially says "drop the gun" and "he's got a gun to his head." Brown can be seen at the end of the video released by the sheriff's office lying in the middle of the road.

“The officer just started shooting at him for no reason. I didn’t hear a warning shot. All I heard was ‘Hands up!’ one time. And all he had was his phone, so I know he put his hands up,” Isaiah Brown’s brother, Tazmon Brown, told NBC4.

Brown’s interactions with the deputy who shot him multiple times began when Brown’s car broke down at about 2:30 a.m. Wednesday at a gas station on Route 3, several miles from his home, according to the TV station. The deputy, who is white, gave Brown, who is Black, a ride home.

Soon after the deputy left, Isaiah Brown called 911. The sheriff’s office described the call as related to a domestic situation between Isaiah Brown and a family member. A source within the county sheriff’s office told NBC4 he was complaining about his brother.

Tazmon Brown told NBC4 he believes his brother just wanted a ride back to his car because he was worried it might get towed.

The same deputy who drove Isaiah Brown home earlier returned. But this time, he opened fire on Brown.

The Virginia State Police issued a statement Wednesday saying, "The sheriff's deputy attempted to verbally engage Brown and it was during this encounter that the deputy discharged his service weapon."

On Friday afternoon, the Spotsylvania Branch of the NAACP said it succeeded in negotiating the release of the body-cam video of the shooting.

The group said it had arranged for Brown's family to view the body-cam footage prior to its public release. "We are grateful for the preexisting relationships with our local law enforcement officials that helped expedite this vital request," Spotsylvania Branch NAACP Mozett Petway said in a statement Friday.

The Black Lives Matter chapter for the Fredericksburg area held a march in protest Friday afternoon in Spotsylvania Courthouse.