Virginia deputy indicted in shooting of unarmed man
By Dakin Andone, CNN
A grand jury has indicted a Virginia’s sheriff’s deputy in connection with the April shooting of Isiah Brown, who was unarmed, according to a special prosecutor for the case.
Prosecutor Justin Witt of the Fredericksburg County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office told CNN on Friday that Spotsylvania County Deputy David Turbyfill had been indicted on a felony charge of “reckless handling of a firearm resulting in serious injury.”
Mark Bong, an attorney for Turbyfill, declined to comment on the charge.
The indictment comes nearly three months after a Spotsylvania County deputy shot and wounded Brown. He was shot while on the phone with 911 dispatch, Brown’s attorney, David Haynes, previously told CNN.
In a statement Thursday, Haynes said Brown and his family were “pleased” with the indictment.
“The shooting resulted in significant injuries to Mr. Brown which will undoubtedly impact him for the rest of his life,” Haynes said.
“Isiah Brown’s life was shattered and changed forever when he crossed paths with David Turbyfill,” Haynes said. “While this indictment doesn’t take Mr. Brown’s physical pain away, it does signify a measure of justice.”
The deputy had given Brown a ride home about an hour prior to the shooting and returned to respond to a “domestic incident,” according to state police. Haynes previously said the deputy mistook a phone for a gun. Brown was discharged from the hospital about a month after the shooting, his attorney told CNN at the time.
Haynes has said that a “failure of communication” between 911 dispatchers and the deputies on the scene led to the shooting, saying in April that Brown had “communicated very clearly to dispatch that he had no weapon and there’s no reason that the deputy should not have been informed of that.”
According to a transcript of the call that accompanied body camera video released by the sheriff’s office, Brown answered yes and no when asked by the dispatcher whether he had a gun.
On Thursday, Haynes said the family was calling for Turbyfill’s “immediate termination.” The deputy was placed on administrative leave following the shooting, in accordance with the sheriff’s office policy, Sheriff Roger Harris previously said.
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CNN’s Amanda Watts, Melissa Alonso, Mitchell McCluskey and Rebekah Riess contributed to this report.
