Jerry Dwight Brown made it clear he was not comfortable stepping into the car of the man wanting to buy drugs off him.
But the undercover Pasco County sheriff’s deputy behind the wheel insisted and Brown reluctantly stepped in.
He was shot dead less than two minutes later.
Brown was not armed but had 90 hydromorphone pills on him, opioid pain pills available only by prescription. The deputy was counting out more than $2,000 when the other deputies came sneaking up from behind and shot him four times, including once in the back.
The incident took place on July 1, 2014 and the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office has long maintained they shot and killed Brown because he ignored repeated commands to raise his hands and surrender, according to the Tampa Bay Times. The deputies have long been cleared of any wrongdoing and continue to be employed by the sheriff’s office.
However, a video clip leaked to the Times shows deputies never gave Brown a chance to raise his hands, shooting him within a second of sneaking up behind him and barking orders.
Shortly after the shooting, the sheriff’s office released video from the deputy which appeared to be from a pair of sunglasses he was wearing.
The 14-minute video shows the events leading up to the shooting as well as the moments after the shooting but it never showed the actual shooting. At the time, these videos were not considered public record as they are today.
But now that the video was leaked, an attorney for the sheriff’s office is claiming it was published in “violation of the law.”
Lindsay Moore also claimed the “video portions depicting the death of Mr. Brown are clearly confidential and exempt from public disclosure,” according to the Times.
The leaked video shows that Brown tried to leave the car by opening the door once the deputies started yelling and barking orders but a deputy pushed the door shut.
According to the Tampa Bay Times:
Deputies said they saw Brown reach toward his right pocket. In the video, what he’s doing is unclear.
A second later, Sgt. Clinton Cabbage shot Brown through the windshield. The video shows the windshield glass shattering. Cabbage hit Brown in the abdomen, then fired two more shots, one of which hit Brown in the buttocks, according to investigative and court documents.
Depositions show another deputy then opened the car door, preparing for Brown to be pulled from the car.
A deputy identified in court records as Det. Daniel Green can be heard yelling for Brown to put his hands up. Immediately, another shot is heard.
Green’s bullet hit Brown in the back, according to a report from the state attorney’s office citing the medical examiner.
The video has since been published on several sites, including this one, so if the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office intends to take legal action, it needs to take legal action against all of us – a battle it will surely lose.
The deputies were cleared of all wrongdoing in 2014. In February, the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office settled with Brown’s widow, Tresa Brown, for $262,500. The settlement was made “out of respect for Mr. Brown’s family,” said a sheriff’s spokeswoman.
The deputies involved in the shooting are all still employed by the sheriff’s office. Read the lawsuit here.
Below is the initial video released by the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office with the missing footage of the shooting.
