Chitwood: Driver Shot by Deputy Fled Deputies for Over 6 Hours

Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood on Monday provided an update on the recent fatal shooting of a reckless driving suspect by a deputy. The shooting on Saturday took place in DeLand after over six hours of pursuit by the Volusia Sheriff’s Office and DeLand Police Department. “Nobody comes to work to kill anybody, but you have to look at how this whole thing transpires,” Chitwood said. “In the video the car lunges toward the and the fires one shot. And that’s what has us here today.” The identity of the deceased driver has been revealed: 29-year-old Brandon Joseph Brabin, a resident of Eustis in Lake County. Brabin has no criminal charges on record in Volusia County. He has one booking in Lake County, for grand theft of a motor vehicle in May 2021. He was released on $2,000 bond for that charge. Chitwood said on Monday that Brabin also has criminal history in Tennessee. He said Brabin was on probation, and that a probation warrant was issued for him in the days preceding his death. Video has been provided by the Volusia Sheriff’s Office documenting the initial encounter between Brabin and law enforcement, as well as the moments a deputy fatally shot him in the parking lot of a Walmart Neighborhood Market. In the initial encounter on Friday at 9:10 p.m., Brabin was stopped by a DeLand Police officer on foot patrol in Artisan Alley in downtown DeLand. Brabin was in a Nissan Altima sedan at the time. The officer is seen ordering Brabin to roll down his window, but Brabin appears to put his car in reverse out to New York Avenue. He’s said to have almost collided with an oncoming vehicle. Five minutes later, a 911 caller reported that they witnessed an Altima run two red lights near New York Ave and Spring Garden Ave. The caller said they were nearly hit. Deputies responded but couldn’t find the car. At 3:44 a.m. Saturday morning, an officer with the DeLand Police Department reportedly saw the Altima driving westbound on New York Ave headed toward Spring Garden Ave. That officer is said to have attempted to stop the car, but the driver fled and continued running red lights. Two minutes later, a VSO deputy saw the Altima on New York Ave near the DeLand City Hall. The VSO says it ran another red light as it turned onto Florida Ave and then to Beresford Ave. Another two minutes later, the VSO reports they got Brabin at gunpoint in his car at the Walmart Neighborhood Market. At 3:49 a.m. a deputy fired their gun into the car, which proceeded to drive further through the parking lot until coming to a stop. Deputy bodycam footage appears to show the car stopped, crashed into a curb with the accelerator running. Deputies approached with their guns drawn before finding Brabin incapacitated. The deputy appeared to be standing near the right-front corner of the Altima when he approached, ordering Brabin to show his hands. The car then appears to proceed forward, and the deputy fires one shot. It’s unclear from the bodycam footage how directly Brabin’s car was pointed toward the deputy and whether the two made physical contact during the exchange. “Inside the vehicle, there was a bunch of Fireball,” Chitwood continued. A photo was displayed showing what appears to be several bottles of Fireball inside Brabin’s car. “We don’t know what his toxicology report’s gonna be. We’ll find that out weeks from now.” The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) will be investigating the deputy shooting to determine whether the deputy’s usage of lethal force was justified. Following that, the Volusia Sheriff’s Office will conduct an internal investigation. The deputy who fired the shot will be off patrol until the incident is fully investigated, Chitwood said. “People don’t want to hear this, it’s his actions that led to this,” Chitwood said of Brabin. “If he stops when a DeLand Police officer in Artisan Alley says ‘stop’, we’re not even having this discussion.”