About Brandon

Deputy Brandon Shirley passed away from injuries sustained on August 5th, 2021 after being ambushed while working a secondary employment security posting authorized by his agency. 

Brandon had worked for the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office since early 2019 and completed the Kentucky Department of Criminal Justice Training basic law enforcement academy in December of 2019. Brandon was assigned to the court security division of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office and was stationed at the Hall of Justice in Downtown Louisville Kentucky.

Before joining the Sheriff's Office, Brandon was an Emergency Medical Technician at Louisville Metro EMS for 3 years and also worked part time for Kentucky Kingdom as an in-park EMT.

He had a passion for baseball and played throughout his life and through high school. Brandon graduated in 2013 from Fairdale High School in the top 3 of his class and most recently completed his associates degree less than a month before his passing.

Brandon had a passion for serving and hoped one day to work for a federal law enforcement agency such as the U.S. Marshalls Service or the ATF.

Brandon is survived by his loving partner of almost 6 years, Austin Reising as well as his parents Deborah and Brian Shirley, his brothers Jake, Mikey, and Zach Shirley. 

He loved fishing, nature, and working. Working was a passion of his and he truly wanted to do anything he could do to make his community better and give the world a better impression of Law Enforcement. A snippet from his LinkedIn profile that he wrote perfectly sums up Brandon's passion to serve 

" I make it my goal to make sure that I do everything that I can to help others in hopes that it gives the public a positive outlook on law enforcement."

Brandon was a recipient of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office Medal of Valor in 2021 for his response to a shooting that occurred in Jefferson Square Park during the civil unrest in downtown Louisville in 2020. Brandon was one of the first law enforcement officers on scene who detained the suspect and then used his EMT training to attempt to save the victim who was shot. 

Brandon‘s killers were indicted in January 2022 and are currently awaiting trial.