Unarmed Black gay police shooting victim Isiah Brown, who was shot multiple times by a Virginia sheriff’s deputy after calling 911 last month, is home after spending more than a month in a Virginia hospital as his attorney continues pushing for the release of more information related to the incident.
According to Brown family attorney David Haynes, Brown was discharged on Tuesday and will continue rehabilitating from his injuries at home. Haynes also stated that doctors caring for Brown found eight bullets in his body and two exit wounds. Two bullets were removed from Brown’s body earlier this month. Brown underwent at least four surgeries while in the hospital. Haynes stated earlier this month that Brown “suffered serious internal injuries,” including injuries to his bowels, and a broken leg.
The Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Department released the 911 call audio and bodycam footage from the incident in the days after, but Haynes and the Brown family have called for the release of more information around the events leading up to the shooting. They demanded the release of communications between the deputy and 911 dispatch, and Haynes filed Freedom of Information Act requests for all the bodycam and dashcam footage from that night as well as the names, hiring dates and personnel files for both the deputy and 911 dispatcher.
Haynes stated Wednesday that his office hasn’t received any additional files from those FOIA requests yet. “Follow-up requests in response to those denial letters are being submitted by counsel for Mr. Brown at this time,” Haynes said in a statement. According to the Associated Press, special prosecutor LaBravia Jenkins denied Haynes and Brown’s family’s requests for the release of further audio and video, citing that the investigation into Brown’s shooting remains ongoing. The deputy remains on administrative leave.
Brown suffered multiple gunshot wounds after a Spotsylvania County sheriff’s deputy opened fire on him while responding to a 911 call made by Brown in the early morning hours on April 21. He was still on the phone with 911 when the shooting took place. According to Haynes, the deputy mistook the cordless phone Brown was holding for a gun that he was holding to his head. The same deputy had given Brown a ride home roughly one hour earlier after his car broke down at a local gas station.
Brown confirmed to 911 that he was unarmed prior to the deputy arriving on scene. Virginia State Police and the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Department confirmed that fact afterward.
