A JUDGE is considering demands for the full body cam footage of the moment Andrew Brown Jr was “executed by cops” to be released.
A hearing is being held this morning in Elizabeth City as the family’s attorneys and protesters push for the whole video to be made public.
Pasquotank Sheriff Tommy Wooten has said he would have released the video days ago as soon as investigators allowed, reports WAVY News.
It comes after his family and legal team viewed 20 seconds worth of body cam footage showing the death of the 42-year-old.
After seeing the allegedly shortened version, Attorney Ben Crump said: “We do not feel that we got transparency, we only saw a snippet of the video where we know that the video started before and after what they showed the family.
“They determined what was perfect – why couldn’t the family see all of the video they only showed one body cam video even though we know there were several bodycam videos,” he fumed.
When asked how many shots were fired, one of the family’s legal team said “we lost count in 20 seconds how many shots.”
Meanwhile, the FBI is opening a civil rights investigation into Brown’s death.
Brown was fatally shot during a drug-related warrant executed by police on April 21. He was hit five times in all; four times in the arm, and once — the alleged fatal “kill shot” — in the head.
Brown was confronted by a Pasquotank County Sheriff’s Office deputy attempting to serve him a warrant at around 8.30am on Wednesday of last week.
The deputy fired a gun while Brown was allegedly driving away from his home.
But family attorney Chantel Cherry-Lassiter said the video showed Brown in his vehicle in his driveway and blocked in by law enforcement, making it so he couldn’t have driven away.
“He had his hands firmly on the steering wheel. They run up to his vehicle shooting. He still stood there, sat there in his vehicle, with his hands on the steering wheel while being shot at.”
Elizabeth City declared a state of emergency on Monday ahead of the possible release of the body cam footage of Brown’s death. Protests demanding transparency have erupted in the area.
Since the April 21 shooting, authorities have provided limited information about the situation in which Brown was killed, and the body cam footage has not been released to the public.
North Carolina law requires that in order to release critical evidence such as body camera footage, a court order must be issued.
Read our live blog below for the very latest on Andrew Brown Jr’s death…
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DISTRICT ATTORNEY ASKS FOR 30 DAY DELAY IN RELEASING BODY CAM FOOTAGE
District Attorney Andrew Womble is requesting for the judge NOT to order the release of the full body cam footage.
He has argued that it could interfere with the investigation.
Womble has said there for four body cam clips, which the judge has said he has spent “hours” reviewing.
Womble has argued that either the video should be released in 30 days if charges are not brought, or if they are, the footage should be released in court.
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‘RELEASE OF FOOTAGE WILL NOT HINDER INVESTIGATION’
Pasquotank County Attorney R. Michael Cox has said he does not believe the release of the the full body cam footage will hinder the State Bureau of Investigation probe.
Cox has requested Judge Foster allow the Pasquotank Sheriff’s Office to release the footage.
The hearing is taking place at Pasquotank County Courthouse in Elizabeth City now.
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JUDGE COULD ORDER RELEASE OF BODY CAM FOOTAGE
Superior Court Judge Jeff Foster could order for the full body cam footage of Andrew Brown Jr being shot by police to be released.
A hearing is taking place now at Pasquotank County Courthouse in Elizabeth City.
Judge Foster is considering demands and a petition for the whole video to be released.
Roads were closed in downtown Elizabeth City ahead of a hearing scheduled to be have begun at 10am.
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CONTINUED – NC SBI STATEMENT
Mr Schurmeier continued: “As far as any relevant video, we defer to the local authorities and the courts to make that determination as guided by State law.
“The SBI supports transparency to the greatest extent possible, as we think this serves the interests of the family, the local community, and North Carolina as a whole.
“Please know we will continue to investigate this matter with a full commitment to obtaining truth and justice for all concerned. That is central to the mission of this agency and will certainly be upheld with respect to the timely investigation of this matter.
“Anyone with material information regarding this case is encouraged to call the NC SBI at 1-888-NCISAAC or email us at NCISAAC@ncsbi.gov.”
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STATEMENT FROM NORTH CAROLINA SBI DIRECTOR
Robert L. Schurmeier, director of North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, today said: “I want to confirm that Special Agents of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) are continuing to conduct a comprehensive, objective, and thorough investigation of the circumstances surrounding the death of Andrew Brown, Jr.
“It is customary that the State Bureau of Investigation investigate incidents of officer-involved shootings in North Carolina at the request of local law enforcement agencies and prosecutors.
“As an agency, we share the family and community’s sense of urgency to understand precisely what occurred during this incident. Our role is to pursue the truth and to ultimately share the results of our work with the prosecutor.
“To that end, I want to assure that the full resources of the NC SBI are being utilized to pursue an independent, thorough, and impartial investigation into the matter of Mr. Brown’s death.
“The family, the community, and all impacted by this event deserve no less and the SBI is fully committed to making sure that the true facts are known, no matter where those facts lead us.”
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ROADS CLOSED IN DOWNTOWN ELIZABETH CITY AHEAD OF HEARING
Roads were closed in downtown Elizabeth City ahead of a hearing scheduled to be taking place now over the release of the full body cam footage.
A judge will consider a petition and calls for the whole video to be made public.
The 10am hearing is taking place at Pasquotank County Courthouse in Elizabeth City, with Superior Court Judge Jeff Foster presiding over it.
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FBI OPENS CIVIL RIGHTS PROBE INTO BROWN’S DEATH
The FBI is opening a civil rights investigation into the death of Andrew Brown Jr.
The announcement on Tuesday came after his family claimed that when the dad was shot dead by deputies, his hands were on his steering wheel.
“The FBI Charlotte Field Office has opened a federal civil rights investigation into the police-involved shooting death of Andrew Brown Jr.,” an FBI spokesman said.
“Agents will work closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina and the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice to determine whether federal laws were violated.”
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PASQUOTANK SHERIFF SAYS HE ‘WOULD HAVE RELEASED FOOTAGE DAYS AGO’
Pasquotank Sheriff Tommy Wooten has reportedly said he would have released the full body cam footage days ago when investigators allowed if it was up to him, reports WAVY News.
He told the outlet making the full video public would help Elizabeth City “get back to some normalcy”
“To me it’s going to help both sides,” he added.
“It’s going to help law enforcements because of transparency which will then lead us to accountability and then the community will be able to maybe feel that trust.”
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EXPLAINED: THE DELAY IN RELEASING BODY CAM FOOTAGE
The delay in releasing footage of Andrew Brown Jr’s death publicly is a result of a 2016 North Carolina law.
The law exempts police body and dash-camera footage from state open records laws.
As a result, a court order is required for video or audio to be released to the public.
The county attorney filed a motion on Monday to release the footage publicly, Pasquotank County Sheriff’s Office said. A media coalition has also filed for the videos to be released.
A hearing is set to be held today.
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HOW MANY CHILDREN DID ANDREW BROWN JR HAVE?
Andrew Brown Jr is believed to have had seven children of his own.
According to Harry Daniels, an attorney representing the family, he also helped to take care of three others.
Brown’s cousin, Janine Hampton, told the Guardian he was a “proud father”.
She said: “Although he didn’t finish school, he pushed them to finish school.
“I believe a few of them were on [the] honor roll.
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WATCH: ‘MILITARIZED’ COPS RUSHED TO BROWN’S HOME BEFORE SHOOTING
Video released by Elizabeth City shows the seconds before Andrew Brown Jr’s police shooting death in which a “militarized” sheriff’s car is seen racing down a quiet residential street before his fatal shooting.
The City Council for the North Carolina city shared the video a week after Brown’s shooting.
In the video released, which appears to be taken from a street camera on a residential street, a Pasquotank County Sheriff’s vehicle is seen driving the quiet tree-lined road with several deputies clad in tactical gear.
Seconds later, the cop car turns the corner and pulls into a driveway, just as the video pauses for a few seconds and jumps to deputies outside of the vehicle shouting inaudibly.
Sirens are heard in the background just as more law enforcement personnel appear in the video rerouting traffic.
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WARRANT REVEALS BROWN WAS A CAREER DRUG DEALER
Andrew Brown Jr was described as a career drug dealer who had a criminal rap sheet over 180-pages long dating back more than thirty years, in the search warrant signed off a day before his death.
Details of the search warrant that ultimately led to Brown’s death have been revealed.
Authorised on April 20 by North Carolina Superior Court Senior Resident Judge Jerry R. Tillett, it states that a confidential source had been in contact with a senior member of a narcotics task force.
Agent R.D. Johnson of the Dare County Narcotics Task Force was allegedly told by the informant that they had been purchasing illegal drugs from Brown for over a year, according to Fox News.
Read more HERE
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GOV. ROY COOPER ASKS FOR SPECIAL PROSECUTOR IN ANDREW BROWN JR. CASE
Gov. Roy Cooper issued a statement on Tuesday asking for a special prosecutor to take over the Andrew Brown Jr. case.
“In the interest of justice and confidence in the judicial system, I believe a special prosecutor should handle all matters regarding the shooting in Pasquotank County,” read a memo from Cooper’s office, according to WRAL.
“This would help assure the community and Mr. Brown’s family that a decision on pursuing criminal charges is conducted without bias.”
The memo continued, “This position is consistent with the change in the law recommended by our Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice which calls for a special prosecutor in police shootings, and I believe the law should be changed to help ensure it.”
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WHO IS THE NORTH CAROLINA DEPUTY WHO SHOT ANDREW BROWN JR?
The identity of the sheriff’s deputy who shot Andrew Brown in Elizabeth City remains unclear.
Brown, a father of 10, was reportedly shot dead by cops around 8.30am on April 21, 2021, as he drove away from them, witnesses claimed.
In a press conference, Sheriff Tommy Wooten said the deputy was placed on administrative leave.
He said no more information would be released until the investigation was complete but that the sheriff’s office would be “transparent.”
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PROTESTS OVER ANDREW BROWN JR’S DEATH RAGE ON FOR SEVENTH NIGHT
Andrew Brown Jr’s ‘execution-style death by cops’ sparked a seventh night of protests since the father-of-seven was fatally shot by deputies.
Police told people protesting the shooting on the streets of Elizabeth City, North Carolina, to head home on Tuesday evening, ahead of a city-wide 8pm curfew.
Elizabeth City declared a state of emergency on Monday and instituted a curfew , which started on Tuesday night at 8pm.
On the curfew, Mayor Bettie Parker said: “We’re usually a kind of quiet town and we’re just sometimes playing stuff by ear because we’ve just never had something like this before. We’ve got to do some healing here because people are hurt.”
According to CNN reports, protesters responded to the PA announcement by shouting, “No justice, no peace!”
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HEARING OVER RELEASE OF FULL BODY CAM FOOTAGE DUE TODAY
A hearing is due to take place at 10am ET today where a judge will consider a petition and calls for the release of the full body cam footage in the Andrew Brown Jr case.
Protesters have demanded cops release the full video of Brown being shot by officers after his family and legal team viewed 20 seconds worth of bodycam footage showing the death of the 42-year-old.
After seeing the allegedly shortened version, Attorney Ben Crump said: “We do not feel that we got transparency, we only saw a snippet of the video where we know that the video started before and after what they showed the family.
“They determined what was perfect – why couldn’t the family see all of the video they only showed one body cam video even though we know there were several bodycam videos,” he fumed.
When asked how many shots were fired, one of the family’s legal team said “we lost count in 20 seconds how many shots.”
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ANDREW BROWN JR’S FUNERAL TO BE HELD NEXT MONDAY
Civil rights activist Al Sharpton will deliver the eulogy at Andrew Brown Jr’s funeral next Monday.
His family’s lawyers said the the service will take place at midday on May 3 in Elizabeth City.
Others details are yet to be confirmed.
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WHAT DID ANDREW BROWN JR’S AUTOPSY REVEAL?
The results of the Brown family’s independent autopsy were released on April 27 – one day after loved ones viewed 20 seconds worth of bodycam footage showing Andrew’s death.
Lawyer Ben Crump said that the autopsy report showed that the “kill shot” Brown received “penetrated his skull and brain.”
The gunshot allegedly caused skull fractures and did not exit his head.
Brown family lawyers say he had his hands on his car steering wheel when he was killed.
The autopsy also revealed that Brown, a father of seven, received “five penetrating bullet wounds” to his body, with four shots to the arm.
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FOX HOST ACCUSES ANDREW BROWN JR’S FAMILY ATTORNEY OF ‘FAKING ACCENT‘
Fox News’ Laura Ingraham accused Bakari Sellers of faking an accent as she slammed the CNN legal analyst for his involvement in the police shooting Andrew Brown, Jr.
Sellers has been hired as a Brown’s family attorney and was in Elizabeth City this week to demand the release of the body cam footage showing 42-year-old Brown being shot dead.
Sellers and his colleagues held a press event after meeting with Pasquotank County Attorney Michael Cox to discuss the video viewing of the police killing last week.
But on Monday evening’s Fox News Show, Ingraham blasted the “hot franchise operation” of civil rights lawyers getting involved in high-profile cases of alleged police brutality.
She said: “Bakari Sellers suddenly showed up in North Carolina today to condemn the police in another case. And sporting an accent that — maybe I’ve missed something, but I never heard him use it on TV before.”
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“WEREN’T” THE GUNSHOTS “ENOUGH?”
Andrew Brown Jr.’s son Khalil Ferebee asked why police had to kill his father when they had shot him already four times in the right arm before his fatal shot in the back of the head.
“Those gunshots to the arm, that weren’t enough? That weren’t enough?” he asked.
“It’s obvious he was trying to get away. It’s obvious, and they’re going to shoot him in the back of the head? That s— not right. That’s not right at all, man.”
Brown’s family had conducted an independent autopsy that found he was shot four times in the right arm and a fifth time in the back of the head.
The fatal shot has caused him to lose control of his car, causing him to crash into a tree.
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PROTESTS CONTINUE IN ELIZABETH CITY
People are out protesting in Elizabeth City, North Carolina for a sixth straight night following the police shooting death of Andrew Brown Jr.
Protests on Tuesday night come on the heels of a video released showing the moments before Brown was shot dead by sheriff’s deputies in heavily clad tactical gear.
It also comes hours after an independent autopsy conducted on behalf of lawyers for the Brown family showed Brown was shot four times in his right arm and once in the back of his head.
The shot to the back of his head caused him to lose consciousness immediately, crashing his car into a nearby tree and likely killing him at the scene.
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STRAY BULLETS WENT THROUGH NEIGHBOR’S HOME
Sheriff deputies in Pasquotank County are accused of a bewildering shootout against Andrew Brown Jr. on a residential street, resulting with one of their stray bullets going right through a neighbor’s door.
“It came through my front room, hit my clock, went through my sidewall in my front room and through my kitchen and then struck my point,” Michael Gordon, a next-door neighbor of where authorities shot Brown, said.
“It came through that hole right there,” described Gordon. “My grandbabies, when they come to visit Papa, they sit right there.”
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BROWN RAN BECAUSE HE DIDN’T WANT TO GET SHOT
An attorney for Andrew Brown Jr’s family said Brown was evading police because he was trying to avoid getting killed like many Black Americans have before him.
“He was trying to run because he was scared for his life,” said Wayne Kendall, an attorney for Brown’s family.
Brown, a 42-year-old man who was shot four times in the right arm and once in the back of the head, was trying to drive away from the Pasquotank County sheriff’s deputies that had cornered him into a driveway.
The sheriff’s office has yet to explain what caused officers to open fire, with Brown’s attorneys demanding video of his shooting be made public as the 20-second snippet of what they were shown did not show Brown to be what they believed a threat.
Kendall said after Brown was shot in the head, he lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a tree.
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BROWN WAS KILLED BY A “MILITARIZED POLICE FORCE“
Prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump called Brown’s shooting death as having been undertaken by a “militarized police force.”
New video shows the seconds before Brown’s death, showing a sheriff’s vehicle driving down a quiet residential street before several tactically-clad sheriff’s deputies rushed out to confront Brown in his car.
Crump, who recently secured $27 million in a civil suit against the city of Minneapolis for the family of George Floyd, tweeted the video and blasted the cops for showing up heavily armed.
“Just-released footage of the militarized police force rushing to kill Andrew Brown. This has become a constant sight across America, the evolution of policing that’s now terrorizing communities of color!” Crump tweeted.
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“GET YOUR HANDS UP”
Video released by Elizabeth City Council on Tuesday shows deputies shouting “get your hands up” before fatally shooting Andrew Brown Jr.
The city-owned video was released to WAVY by Elizabeth City Police Chief Eddie Buffalo after a FOIA request.
It shows deputies arrive in the back of a pickup truck to Brown’s home and turn in his driveway.
After the deputies’ first yells, the video glitches, and the audio drops for 20 seconds.
This was allegedly caused by the loud sound of shots being fired at Brown, WAVY reports.