Andrew Brown Jr shooting latest – Family demand body cam footage ahead of Monday funeral as anger grows & protests due
ANDREW Brown Jr’s family are demanding to see body cam footage from his shooting amid growing anger and several expected protests
His family dispute the police account of what happened during the shooting on April 21 in North Carolina- and now demand to see bodycam footage.
The dad-of-10 was shot dead by cops in North Carolina during a drug-related warrant executed by police on April 21.
The Brown family are preparing for a funeral, which will be held in Elizabeth County on Monday (May 3), with a eulogy delivered by Rev. Al Sharpton.
Memorials for the dead man begin with two weekend walk-through viewings.
One of Mr Brown’s relatives has given CNN a different account of what happened that disputes the official one.
The relative said that Brown started backing up his car "and they started shooting the front windshield of his car”.
"And then he took off to go across the yard and they started shooting the back window of his car,’ he added.
That contrasts with District Attorney Andrew Womble’s, who said cops only opened fire only after Brown's car came in contact with them.
Brown's family and legal team have only viewed 20 seconds worth of bodycam footage showing the death of the 42-year-old and are demanding it be released in its entirety.
Read our live blog below for the very latest on Andrew Brown Jr's death...
- Joseph Gamp
EXPLAINED: WHY WAS ANDREW BROWN JR BEING ARRESTED?
The shooting took place about 8.30am on April 21 when deputies attempted to serve a drug-related arrest warrant on Brown at his home in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.
According to the search warrant that was signed one day before, Brown had a criminal rap sheet dating back thirty years.
Authorized on April 20 by North Carolina Superior Court Senior Resident Judge Jerry R. Tillett, the warrant stated 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.
- Joseph Gamp
WHAT IS THE LAW OVER BODY CAM FOOTAGE IN NORTH CAROLINA?
A law enacted in North Carolina in 2016 allows law enforcement agencies to show body camera video privately to a victim’s family.
But it generally requires a court to approve any public release.
- Joseph Gamp
BROWN'S LEGAL TEAM ON SHOOTING (CONTINUED…)
Lawyer Chantel Cherry-Lassiter watched a 20-second portion of body camera video of the fatal shooting with Brown's family.
She told reporters: "There was no time in the 20 seconds that we saw where he was threatening the officers in any kind of way."
Brown's death has sparked nightly protests and demands for justice in Elizabeth City.
- Joseph Gamp
EXPLAINED: WHAT DID BROWN'S FAMILY AND LEGAL TEAM SAY ABOUT THE SHOOTING?
Crump, the family lawyer, said that an independent 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.
"Yesterday, I said he was 'executed.' This autopsy report shows me that was correct," Brown's son, Khalil Ferebee said, according to ABC News.
Lawyer Wayne Kendall said the fatal shot hit Brown as he tried to drive away, according to ABC News.
According to the outlet, Kendall said: "He was able to back up, turn the vehicle around, spin off across a vacant lot. And at that time he was hit in the back of the head and that is the fatal bullet wound."
The autopsy revealed that Brown received "five penetrating bullet wounds" to his body, with four shots to the arm.
- Joseph Gamp
ATTORNEY BEN CRUMP SAYS ANDREW BROWN FAMILY FEEL THEY'RE NOT GETTING FULL TRANSPARENCY
During the hearing on Wednesday, an attorney for the coalition argued that the world wouldn't have known what happened to George Floyd had the footage showing Derek Chauvin kneeling on his neck not been released.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who viewed a shortened version of the footage, said the Brown family "does not feel" they're getting transparency.
"We only saw a snippet of the video where we know that the video started before and after what they showed the family," he said.
"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."
- Joseph Gamp
FAMILY LAWYERS SAY DEATH CAUSED BY POLICE 'KILL SHOT' IN THE BACK OF HEAD
An independent post-mortem found 42-year-old Andrew Brown Jr was killed by a bullet in the rear of the skull as he drove away from sheriff's deputies, according to his relatives' legal team.
The FBI says it is opening a federal civil rights investigation into the 21 April shooting in Elizabeth City, adding it would work with prosecutors in the US Department of Justice to "determine whether federal laws were violated".
And North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper has called for a special prosecutor to be appointed to take over the state's investigation.
- Joseph Gamp
FOUR OUT OF SEVEN DEPUTIES BACK AT WORK (CONTINUED…)
The other three who did fire will remain on leave until the North Carolina Bureau of Investigation completes its work.
The four back on active duty are Lt Steve Judd, Sgt Michael Swindell, Sgt Kendall Bishop and Sgt Joel Lunsford, while the three remaining on leave are Investigator Daniel Meads, Deputy Sheriff II Robert Morgan and Corp Aaron Lewellyn.
"After reviewing the preliminary conclusions of the independent investigators conducting the internal review, and after carefully examining the body camera footage of the incident with my own staff, it's obvious that four of the deputies never fired their weapons and deserve to be reinstated to active duty," Wooten said in a statement on Thursday.
Brown, 42, was witnessed attempting to drive away from a deputy serving a drug-related warrant at his Elizabeth City, North Carolina home.
- Joseph Gamp
FOUR OUT OF SEVEN DEPUTIES INVOLVED IN ANDREW BROWN JR CONFRONTATION ARE NOW BACK AT WORK
Four out of the seven deputies involved in the deadly warrant-serving confrontation with Andrew Brown Jr are back on active duty.
Pasquotank County Sheriff Tommy Wooten said after review of bodycam footage, the officers were returned to patrol from administrative leave as they did not fire their service weapons during the April 21 incident.
The four back on active duty are Lt Steve Judd, Sgt Michael Swindell, Sgt Kendall Bishop and Sgt Joel Lunsford, while the three remaining on leave are Investigator Daniel Meads, Deputy Sheriff II Robert Morgan and Corp Aaron Lewellyn.
- Joseph Gamp
FAMILY CONFIRM FIRST VIEWING OF ANDREW BROWN JR'S BODYTO TAKE PLACE ON SUNDAY
Andrew Brown, Jr.’s family has scheduled the first viewing on Sunday at Horton’s Funeral Home and Cremations on Dobbs St. in Hertford from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m, ABC reports.
A second Sunday viewing is set for the Museum of the Albermarle in Elizabeth City from 3-6 p.m.
An invitation-only celebration of Brown’s life takes place Monday at noon at Fountain of Life Church in Elizabeth City.
- Joseph Gamp
WATCH: HEARING TO BE HELD ON RELEASE OF BODYCAM VIDEO IN FATAL SHOOTING OF ANDREW BROWN
Hearing to be held on release of bodycam video in fatal shooting of Andrew Brown
- Joseph Gamp
WHAT IS THE LAW OVER BODY CAM FOOTAGE IN NORTH CAROLINA?
A law enacted in North Carolina in 2016 allows law enforcement agencies to show body camera video privately to a victim’s family.
But it generally requires a court to approve any public release.
- Joseph Gamp
AUTHORITIES UNDER PRESSURE TO RELEASE ANDREW BROWN JR VIDEO FOOTAGE
The hearing comes amid pressure on authorities to release the video and calls for a special prosecutor to take the state’s case over from Womble.
On Tuesday, Brown’s family released an independent autopsy showing he was shot five times, including in the back of the head.
The FBI’s Charlotte field office, which opened the civil rights investigation into Brown’s death, said in a statement Tuesday that its agents planned to work closely with the Department of Justice “to determine whether federal laws were violated.”
The independent autopsy was performed Sunday by a pathologist hired by Brown’s family.
The exam noted four wounds to the right arm and one to the head. The state’s autopsy has not been released yet.
- Joseph Gamp
BROWN FAMILY LAWYERS SAY VIDEO EVIDENCE 'KEY TO DISCERNING THE TRUTH' AHEAD OF FUNERAL ON MONDAY
Attorneys for the Brown family said they were "deeply disappointed" by the decision" adding that "video evidence is the key to discerning the truth."
District Attorney Andrew Womble told the judge that he had viewed the footage and disagreed with a characterization by attorneys for the family of Brown Jr. that his car was stationary when the shooting started.
Womble claimed the footage shows Brown's car making contact with police twice before two shots could be heard ringing out in the video.
"As it backs up, it does make contact with law enforcement officers,' he said, adding the car reportedly stops again.
"The next movement of the car is forward. It is in the direction of law enforcement and makes contact with law enforcement. It is then and only then that you hear shots."
- Joseph Gamp
PROSECUTORS CLAIM ANDREW BROWN HIT POLICE WITH HIS CAR BEFORE THEY SHOT HIM 5 TIMES AND KILLED HIM
ANDREW Brown Jr. hit deputies with his car before they fired the shots that killed him, a prosecutor claimed on Wednesday.
Brown, 42, was shot and killed by police in Elizabeth City, North Carolina on April 21 while at the wheel of his car in his driveway.
Deputies had been serving drug-related search and arrest warrants at the time of the shooting.
Bodycam footage of the fatal incident has not yet been released by police, however, family members of Brown have called his death an "execution".
However, a judge ruled that the footage will not be released to the public for at least 30 to 45 days while an investigation is underway.
Read more here.
- Joseph Gamp
EXPLAINED: WHAT HAVE ANDREW BROWN'S FAMILY SAID ABOUT HIS DEATH?
Brown Jr's family is outraged after claiming they only saw a 20-second snippet of the video.
Now, their family attorney is saying police are "hiding" the bodycam footage and only offering to show them a redacted version of it.
Benjamin Crump said: "Police can't sweep this under the rug.
"What is it on this video that is so damning that you would risk your career and risk losing your job so the people can't see the video?"
After seeing the allegedly shortened version, 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."
- Joseph Gamp
EXPLAINED: HOW MANY CHILDREN DID ANDREW BROWN HAVE?
THE fatal shooting of Andrew Brown Jr has sparked outrage across the country and left his family heartbroken over the death of their beloved "Drew".
The family is also reportedly furious after claiming they saw only a small snippet of the cop's body cam footage showing the shooting of Brown.
Read more here.
- Joseph Gamp
SHERIFF CALLS LAW ENFORCEMENT ‘UNPREDICTABLE’
Speaking on Friday to NPR’s All Things Considered, Pasquotank County Sheriff Tommy Wooten said law enforcement was “unpredictable” when asked how Brown’s arrest “went wrong.”
“How it goes wrong? Law enforcement, when you go call to call, as you can imagine, is so unpredictable,” he said.
“And it’s very difficult for anybody, much less law enforcement when you have to react in a fraction of a second.”
“So it’s hard to give you an exact answer on that and be very specific. It’s just so unpredictable is the word I can think of.”
- Joseph Gamp
MEMORIALS TO BEGIN FOR ANDREW BROWN JR
Memorials for dead man begin with two weekend walk-through viewings, followed by a Monday funeral with a eulogy delivered by Rev. Al Sharpton.
Andrew Brown, Jr.’s family has scheduled the first viewing on Sunday at Horton’s Funeral Home and Cremations on Dobbs St. in Hertford from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m, ABC reports.
A second Sunday viewing is set for the Museum of the Albermarle in Elizabeth City from 3-6 p.m.
An invitation-only celebration of Brown’s life takes place Monday at noon at Fountain of Life Church in Elizabeth City.
- Joseph Gamp
WHY WERE COPS TRYING TO ARREST ANDREW BROWN JR?
Agent R.D. Johnson of the Dare County Narcotics Task Force was told by an informant they had been purchasing illegal drugs from Brown for over a year, according to Fox News.
They claim to have bought “different quantities of cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine from Brown on numerous occasions”.
According to the informant, they would meet up with Brown in numerous hotels and motels in both Dare County and Elizabeth City – and even at Brown’s home on multiple occasions.
- Joseph Gamp
BROWN FAMILY ATTORNEY BEN CRUMP SAYS THERE ARE ‘TWO JUSTICE SYSTEMS' IN US
Ben Crump has claimed there are “two justice systems” in the United States.
He told MSNBC that it was “inexplicable” that the police would have to use “deadly force” on a black man moving away from the police.
“That’s why I argue there’s two justice systems in America, one for white America and one for white America,” he said.
- Joseph Gamp
COMMUNITY ‘DEEPLY TROUBLED’ BY CASE
The death of Andrew Brown Jr has widened the racial divide in Elizabeth City, an activist has said.
“The people of Elizabeth City are just deeply, deeply troubled by this,” said Kristie Puckett-Williams, manager of ACLU of North Carolina’s Campaign for Smart Justice and an activist in Elizabeth City told CNN.
“There is a racial divide amongst the city and county and this has only widened the divide.”
- Joseph Gamp
FAMILY’S PUSH FOR FOOTAGE COMPARED TO GEORGE FLOYD
Lawyers for Andrew Brown Jr’s family as pushing for body camera footage as public “wouldn’t have known what happened to George Floyd without the video”.
However, a judge ruled that the footage will not be released to the public for at least 30 to 45 days while an investigation is underway.
Brown’s family and legal team have only viewed 20 seconds worth of bodycam footage showing the death of the 42-year-old.
- Joseph Gamp
WATCH: PROTESTERS ARRESTED FOLLOWING THE SHOOTING OF ANDREW BROWN JR BY PASQUOTANK COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPUTIES IN ELIZABETH CITY
Protestors arrested following the shooting of Andrew Brown Jr by Pasquotank County sheriff’s deputies in Elizabeth City
- Joseph Gamp
THREE DEPUTIES REMAIN SUSPENDED
Pasquotank County Sheriff Tommy Wooten said three more remain suspended as investigations continue underway.
He said: “More investigation is necessary into the three deputies who did fire their weapons and they will remain on administrative leave pending completion” of a criminal probe underway by the State Bureau of Investigation.”
- Joseph Gamp
EXPLAINED: WHY WAS ANDREW BROWN JR SHOT?
The father-of-ten was reportedly shot dead by cops around 8:30am on April 21, 2021, as he drove away from them, witnesses claimed.
Brown was shot as he drove away from cops, according to neighbors.
Officers were called to the home in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, to carry out a search warrant.
Source: Read Full Article