Protesters have called for the release of police bodycam footage after a North Carolina sheriff’s deputy shot dead a black father of ten.
Andrew Brown Jr. was shot at multiple times Wednesday while trying to drive away, according to eyewitnesses. The car skidded out of Brown’s yard and eventually hit a tree, said Demetria Williams, who lives on the same street.
Police had been serving a search warrant for his arrest at the time of the shooting. Court records show Brown was 42 years old and had a history of drug charges and a misdemeanor drug possession conviction.
The Pasquotank County Sheriff’s Office confirmed one of its officers shot the man, but has released few details, including whether or not the victim was armed at the time of the incident. The deputy has been placed on leave pending a review by the State Bureau of Investigation, Sheriff Tommy Wooten II said at a news conference.
Keith Rivers, the president of the Pasquotank NAACP, told 10 On Your Side: ‘If the body cameras were on, that information needs to be disseminated as quickly as possible in order to make sure justice is served.’ City Council member Darius Horton said seeing the footage is vital.
DailyMail.com has contacted the Pasquotank County Sheriff’s Office for a timeline on when the footage will be released.
His shooting came came a day after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all counts of murdering George Floyd, an unarmed black man. That same day 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant was shot dead by an officer in Columbus.
Dozens of people gathered at the scene of the shooting in Elizabeth City, where they expressed their anger and rallied around Brown´s family members. A large crowd later stood outside City Hall while the City Council held an emergency meeting, some holding signs proclaiming ‘Black Lives Matter’ and ‘Stop killing unarmed Black Men.’
As the evening wore on, a group gathered in the parking lot of the sheriff´s office and a crowd that grew to more than 200 blocked traffic on a main thoroughfare of the city, forcing cars to turn around.
Public schools in the area are learning remotely Thursday due to ‘community concern and out of an abundance of caution.’
People gather outside the municipal building after at least one Pasquotank County Sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a Black man while executing a search warrant, the sheriff’s office said, Wednesday. The deputy was wearing an active body camera at the time of the shooting, said Sheriff Tommy Wooten II, who declined to say how many shots the deputy fired or release any other details, citing a pending review by the State Bureau of Investigation
Protesters on Wednesday night called for the release of police bodycam footage after a North Carolina sheriff’s deputy shot dead Andrew Brown Jr. Police had been serving a search warrant for his arrest at the time of the shooting
Andrew Brown Jr. was shot at multiple times while trying to drive away, according to eyewitnesses. The car skidded out of Brown’s yard and eventually hit a tree, said Demetria Williams, who lives on the same street. Protesters pictured Wednesday
The Pasquotank County Sheriff’s Office confirmed one of its officers shot the man, but has released few details, including whether or not the victim was armed at the time of the incident. The deputy has been placed on leave pending a review by the State Bureau of Investigation, Sheriff Tommy Wooten II said at a news conference
Deshawn Morris speaks to fellow residents near the scene of Brown’s shooting Wednesday
Dozens of people gathered at the scene of the shooting in Elizabeth City, where they expressed their anger and rallied around Brown´s family members.
A man identified by relatives as Andrew Brown (left and right) was shot and killed by a sheriff’s deputy in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, early Wednesday
Witnesses said Brown got into his car (pictured) and was driving away when the deputy opened fire.
Gunfire erupted at 8.30am in the 400 block of Perry Street in Elizabeth City. According to neighbors, they heard six to eight shots.
During a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, officials remained tight-lipped and refused to answer most questions about the incident, citing an ongoing investigation.
Pasquotank County Sheriff Tommy Wooten II did confirm that a deputy from his department shot Brown. He revealed that the unnamed deputy has been on the force for about a year.
The deputy was placed on leave pending a review by the State Bureau of Investigation. His race has not been revealed.
‘The police didn´t have to shoot my baby,’ said Martha McCullen, an aunt of Brown who said she raised him after his parents died. McCullen stood on the stoop of Brown´s rental home, her eyes moist with emotion.
‘Andrew Brown was a good person,’ she said. ‘He was about to get his kids back. He was a good father. Now his kids won´t never see him again.’
A large crowd later stood outside City Hall while the City Council held an emergency meeting, some holding signs proclaiming ‘Black Lives Matter’ and ‘Stop killing unarmed Black Men’
As the evening wore on, a group gathered in the parking lot of the sheriff´s office and a crowd that grew to more than 200 blocked traffic on a main thoroughfare of the city, forcing cars to turn around
Public schools in the area are learning remotely Thursday due to ‘community concern and out of an abundance of caution’
Keith Rivers, the president of the Pasquotank NAACP, told 10 On Your Side : ‘If the body cameras were on, that information needs to be disseminated as quickly as possible in order to make sure justice is served.’ City Council member Darius Horton said seeing the footage is vital
Wooten said that the deputy was wearing a body camera but said he has yet to review the footage. It could take time for that video to be released since releasing such footage requires a judge’s approval in the state
According to relatives, Brown was unarmed and did not hurt anyone, but authorities have yet to confirm that information.
Brown’s body was removed from his vehicle and placed beneath a blue tent, where it remained for hours after the shooting.
During the emergency meeting, black members of the City Council spoke emotionally about the fears of their community amid multiple police shootings across the country and implored investigators to remain transparent.
‘I´m afraid as a Black man,’ an emotional Councilman Gabriel Adkins told his colleagues. ‘I´m afraid that I may be the next one that my family might have to see on the news that I was gunned down.’
Adkins said businesses in the neighborhood of the shooting had begun boarding up their windows in anticipation of violence.
‘Not only do we need transparency … we need accountability,’ said City Councilman Darius Horton, who called for the immediate release of bodycam footage, the search warrant and a speedy explanation of what led to the shooting. ‘We need answers. … Let´s not hide behind anything.’
Others councilors urged the community to remain calm until all of the facts about the shooting are known.
Among those who gathered at the scene of the shooting was Keith Rivers, president of the Pasquotank County chapter of the NAACP.
‘When is it going to stop? We just got a verdict yesterday,’ Rivers said in a phone interview, referring to the guilty verdicts handed down Tuesday in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd.
‘Is it open season now? At some point, it has to stop. We have to start holding the people in charge accountable.’
Officers are seen working inside a tent that was erected to shield Brown’s car from view after the fatal shooting in Elizabeth City Wednesday
Just minutes before the verdict was announced, an officer in Columbus, Ohio, shot and killed 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant during a confrontation with two other women that involved a knife.
Several people who identified themselves as Brown’s relatives have posted messages on social media mourning his death.
‘The last time I saw my cousin in October, we talked more than we ever have. Lots of laughs. Now I know why. R.I.P. Jr,’ wrote Jadine Hampton.
Another woman who also identified herself as Brown’s cousin wrote in a status update: ‘I can’t believe this .. You see stuff like this on TV but I never thought it would happen in my own family R.I.P cousin Andrew Brown. U just messaged me last week.. this is crazy.’
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation will lead the probe into Brown’s fatal shooting.
Keith Rivers, the president of the Pasquotank NAACP, was on the scene of the shooting in Elizabeth City and called on the sheriff’s office to release body camera video as quickly as possible.