Body Cam Video, 911 Call Provide Details in Isaiah Brown Case

Sheriff’s office releases body cam video, 911 audio and transcript, providing details into Wednesday morning’s shooting.

SPOTSYLVANIA-A Spotsylvania County deputy believed Isaiah Brown had a gun. Instead, it was a cordless phone. The body cam video and 911 transcript, which were both released Friday night, detail what caused the deputy to shoot Brown in the early morning hours of April 21. Brown remains in serious condition at Mary Washington Hospital.

Brown himself called 911 around 3:18 a.m., the transcript and audio shows. He told the dispatcher that “my brother won’t let me get inside my mom’s room.” Brown’s car, which had been towed to the house earlier that night, was in the backyard. His mother’s room had a door leading out to the backyard and he wanted to get something out of the vehicle. However, his brother wouldn’t let him go through the room. That led to the 911 call. 

“Can you send somebody down here?” Isaiah asks the dispatcher. 

The dispatcher asks “what is going on, Isaiah? Why don’t you just, what is the problem?” 

“I’m about to kill my brother,” Isaiah Brown responded. 

He then told the 911 dispatcher that “somebody needs to come here real quick.” 

“Do you understand that you just threatened to kill your brother on a recorded line on 911?” the dispatcher asks. 

“Mmhmm,” Isaiah replied. 

“So why would you say something like that?” the dispatcher asked. 

“Because I need to get to my s***,” Isaiah responded. 

At that point, Isaiah Brown took the phone and walked outside. The dispatcher asked if he had a gun and Isaiah said yes. She reworded the question and asked if he had a gun in his possession now. He said no. His brother stayed in the house and he started walking down the road with the cordless house phone, still on the line with 911. 

The Deputy Arrives

At this point, the 911 dispatcher told Isaiah he needed to put his hands up as the deputy arrived on scene. We hear this in the 911 call and see it on the deputy’s body cam video.

“Hold your hands up. Isaiah, are you holding your hands up?” she asks. 

There’s no response from Isaiah on the other end of the phone. Instead, we hear the deputy shouting “show me your hands” to Isaiah Brown. 

Despite not talking on the phone, Brown still had it up at his head. This is when the shooting happens and we’re just going to paste the transcript verbatim here. 

Deputy: “Show me your hands now. Show me your hands. Drop the gun. He’s got a gun to his head. Drop the gun now. He’s walking towards me. Stop walking towards me. Stop. Stop.” 

At no point in this after the dispatcher told him to hold up his hands do we hear Isaiah Brown say anything, either to the deputy or the 911 dispatcher. 

After firing and hitting Isaiah Brown multiple times, the deputy keeps asking him to show his hands and to drop the gun. Again, we’re copying and pasting here from the transcript. 

Deputy: “Show me your hands. Show me your hands. Drop the gun. Drop the gun.” 

Deputy: “I killed a guy.” 

Deputy: “Shots fired. Suspect laying down in the roadway.” 

Deputy: “Show me your hands now. Show me your hands.” 

Deputy: “I’m 10-4, several shots to the abdomen, performing lifesaving measures. (speaking to Isaiah Brown) I’ve got you man. (Speaking to 911) Several gunshots to abdomen, one gunshot to the left thigh, two gunshots to the side. (Speaking to Isaiah Brown) I’ve got you man. I’ll pray for you man.” 

‘Where Is The Gun?’ 

At this point, Isaiah Brown’s brother came out and asked what just happened. The deputy asks him to go to the squad car and grab the medical kit inside. At the same time, the deputy keeps asking Isaiah Brown to stay with him, to talk to him. 

Deputy: “The hospital is coming. Where is your pain at?” 

Deputy: “Where is the gun at? Where is the gun?” 

That’s when the recording provided by the police cut off, with the deputy asking where was the gun he thought he saw. 

Spotsylvania Sheriff Roger Harris said in a statement that “the deputy has been placed on administrative leave, pending investigation.”

Here is the link to the sheriff’s statement, as well as the 911 audio and body cam footage. The sheriff’s office combined it all into one YouTube video.

Brian Carlton is Dogwood’s managing editor. You can reach him at [email protected].

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