01/05/2021
The Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office of Virginia has published emergency service call audio and bodycam footage from a deputy who repeatedly shot a gay Black man Isaiah Brown while he was unarmed. The department has admitted that the deputy that opened fire and another deputy accompanying him mistook a portable house phone that Brown was holding for a gun when they opened fire, according to top American gay newswire LGBTQ Nation. Mr Brown is recovering at home with wounds to his abdomen and thigh. Mr Brown was given a ride home by a sheriff’s deputy in the early morning of April 21 after his car broke down. The deputy would return just minutes later and open fire after a 911 call was placed by Brown. The call was cited as a reported “domestic disturbance” in initial police statements, and Brown was reported as a “suspect” by the department. Brown is heard making a statement on the 911 call that he would shoot his brother, who would not hand over car keys. However, he later admitted that he was just speaking rhetorically in that instance.
