In what isn't exactly a shocking decision but is no less a disappointing one, a North Carolina district attorney determined the deadly shooting of Andrew Brown Jr., who had both hands on the steering wheel when deputies opened fire on him, was “justified.” Brown, 42, was killed in the shooting on April 21 outside his home in Elizabeth City after law enforcement officers tried to serve him a drug-related arrest warrant, they said.
"Mr. Brown's death, while tragic, was justified because Mr. Brown's actions caused three deputies to reasonably believe it was necessary to use deadly force to protect themselves and others," Pasquotank County District Attorney Andrew Womble said on Tuesday during a news conference. Womble also played body-camera footage during the news conference that served as the public's first look at the incident Brown’s family is seeking the U.S. Department of Justice to intervene in.
The footage lasted 44 seconds from the time officers got out of their’s home vehicle, by Womble’s count. It showed deputies unloading out of a vehicle and running toward Brown’s car yelling “motherf----r.” “Stop the f-----g car,” a law enforcement officer can be heard yelling.
Warning: This video contains profanity and other content that may be triggering to some viewers.
Womble said when Brown got into his vehicle it constituted a threat. "When you employ a car in a manner that puts officers' lives in danger, that is a threat," Womble said. "And I don't care what direction you're going -- forward, backwards, sideways. I don't care if you're stationary, and neither do our courts and our case law."
Womble said Brown was shot twice, once in the head, which runs contrary to the results of a private autopsy the family got, showing Brown was shot four times in his right arm and once in the head. Womble’s decision relied on a report from the investigating agency, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. That report has not been released publicly. The State Bureau of Investigation said in its statement:
“Even though a decision has now been made by the District Attorney, the NC SBI file is still not considered a public record under NCGS 132-1.4 and may only be released pursuant to a court order. Therefore, the NC SBI will not be releasing any written reports regarding the investigation. In addition, any decisions regarding the release of video footage will continue to be made by the court in accordance with NCGS 132-1.4A. As stated earlier, the NC SBI supports transparency to the greatest extent possible allowed by the law, as we think this serves the interests of the citizens of North Carolina.”
The state agency also mentioned some aspects of what its investigation included. “During the course of this investigation, the NC SBI interviewed numerous witnesses, conducted crime scene analysis, collected and reviewed video footage, and engaged in other investigative activities in an attempt to conduct as thorough and complete an investigation as possible in a timely manner,” the agency said. “After providing the facts to the District Attorney, it was his duty to apply the law to those facts to make the ultimate decision about whether criminal charges were appropriate.”
The Brown family's legal team said in a statement released on social media Tuesday that this "grieving family, and this community deserve answers." "And they received anything but from D.A. Womble's attempt to whitewash this unjustified killing. To say this shooting was justified, despite the known facts, is both an insult and a slap in the face to Andrew's family, the Elizabeth City community, and to rational people everywhere."
Brown’s family attorneys added: “Because we certainly got neither transparency nor justice today. We request that the Federal Department of Justice intervene immediately."
Attorney Chantel Cherry-Lassiter, who’s on the Brown family’s legal team, called Brown’s death an “execution” after viewing footage released earlier to the family. “Andrew Brown was in his driveway. The sheriff’s truck blocked him in his driveway so he could not exit the driveway,” Cherry-Lassiter said. “Andrew had his hands on his steering wheel. He was not reaching for anything. He was not touching anything.”
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