Died in custody
John Brown
John Junior Brown, 49, was a passenger in a car stopped by Wythe County deputies late on a Friday night in June 2022. Deputies placed him in the back of a patrol car, where he said he was suffocating, and he collapsed and died. According to the sheriff's office, deputies took him out of the car and stood him up when he collapsed and began shaking, an account the sheriff's office has given of its own actions. The medical examiner's autopsy is pending, and investigators said body camera footage would be reviewed to determine whether he swallowed anything.
Cause of death, as reported: Cause not yet determined. The Wythe County Sheriff's Office said the medical examiner's autopsy and a review of body camera footage are pending.