Yolanda Brown (R) speaks out at a press conference after her brother Isaiah Brown, a gay Black man, was shot by police 10 times. (Screenshot: YouTube/WUSA9/YouTube/NBC News)
The sister of Isaiah Brown, a gay Black man who was shot ten times by police, has spoken out about how her brother is doing after the horrific event.
Brown, 32, was shot by a Virginia sheriff’s deputy less than an hour after the same officer gave him a ride home on 21 April. The officer had returned to Brown’s address to respond to a “domestic incident”, and Brown, who was unarmed, was shot multiple times while on the phone with 911. Brown’s lawyer said the officer “mistook a cordless house phone for a gun”.
He was taken to a local hospital after the shooting with serious but non-life-threatening injuries and is on a breathing machine.
Isaiah Brown’s sister, Yolanda, told the Advocate that her brother’s condition “hasn’t changed”, and he remains in the intensive care unit. She said she’s been the only family member allowed to see Brown because of COVID-19 protocols, and she’s been there “every day” since her brother was admitted.
“It’s still touch and go,” Yolanda said. “His vitals are up one minute and down the next, and he still hasn’t regained consciousness.”
She explained that she has been sitting by her brother’s side telling him stories, praying with him and playing music for him. Yolanda said she keeps telling him that she loves him constantly. She added: “I’m just waiting for him to tell me that he loves me back, and that will lift a big burden off my chest.
“We just have to believe that he will be alright.”
Yolanda said her brother’s smile “just lights up a room”, and he “loves his sweets”. She said he is a music lover, and he “currently loves Big Freedia”.
Yolanda said that “so many things” have been running through her mind since the horrific incident, and she just wants her brother to be healthy. But she said that she wants to uncover more about the incident and get answers as to why it happened.
“Hopefully, we can get answers as to what happened and at least try and move forward,” Yolanda said.
She added that her “heart goes out to all the families that have had to deal with this situation”.
“We need to figure out why this keeps happening and where all the failures are coming from,” she said. “How to fix this million-dollar question. I have other brothers, and I don’t want them to continue walking around in fear.”
Yolanda said that no one from the police department had reached out to her, or her family, to check in on her brother.
The police deputy, who has not been named, has been placed on administrative leave according to the sheriff’s office policy. The Virginia State Police said it is investigating the shooting.
