Body camera footage released on Tuesday by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police shines more light on a Jan. 2025 encounter with the man who would later be accused of fatally stabbing Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte light rail car.
WCNC requested the body camera footage after Decarlos Brown was sent to a state mental hospital for an evaluation shortly after being charged for Zarutska's death. That evaluation will play into the determination of whether he's mentally fit to stand trial.
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Months before Zarutska was stabbed on the light rail, in January, Brown told officers he had been given a human-made substance that controlled when he ate, talked or walked.
The videos from that encounter are available on CMPD's YouTube page. These videos may contain vulgar language, and viewer discretion is advised.
The video, obtained by WCNC, show officers encountering Brown pacing on the sidewalk along Hawthorne Lane asking for help.
"Someone has exposed me to man-made material; there are voices in my head controlling me," said Brown.
The interaction with Brown lasted about 28 minutes per CMPD. Officers said they focused on de-escalating the situation and maintaining public safety. When officers told Brown he should seek medical attention and visit a hospital, he became visibly upset and insisted police investigate his concerns.
Brown called 911 again while officers remained on scene, asking for more officers to respond. After that second call, CMPD arrested him and charged him with misuse of the 911 system. A judge released him without bail.
CMPD said it did not obtain an involuntary commitment (IVC) for Brown after the January incident because he did not express intent to harm himself or others.
CMPD added that officers responded to three previous calls Brown placed in 2024 regarding similar concerns. During those encounters, services and assistance were offered, but Brown ultimately declined them.
Decarlos Brown's history
Brown's mother told WSOC-TV in Charlotte that he had been arrested more than a dozen times and suffers from mental health issues. She told WSOC that she sought psychiatric help for Brown after he started to say “weird things,” but that she had to kick him out of her house after he became aggressive toward her.
Brown's criminal record shows some charges were dismissed but others ended in convictions, including for several felonies related to thefts committed in 2013 and 2014, which landed him in prison from 2015 to 2020. One of those convictions was for an armed robbery.
Since being released from prison, court records show a 2022 financial dispute with the government over a $2,500 bond forfeiture and the allegation of misusing the 911 system earlier this year, but no allegations of serious crimes until the alleged murder of Zarutska.
When he was arrested earlier this year over the 911 call, he was released from jail with no bail, on a promise to appear back in court. That’s a common procedure for low-level crimes, but the decision is now coming under scrutiny due to the fatal outcome.
