Neighbors, lawyers, and family of an African-American man shot to death by an officer who executed arrest and search warrants in North Carolina earlier this week are calling for the release of images of the body camera that captured the incident, reported ABC News .
Andrew Brown Jr., from 42 years, was killed when Pasquotank County Sheriff’s Office deputies attempted to serve arrest warrants at his home in Elizabeth City on Wednesday morning.
The authorities have not released the details that led to the shooting .
Officers were serving arrest warrants related to felony drug charges when bailiffs shot Brown and caused his death said the Sheriff’s office.
This is Andrew Brown Jr – a 42 yo Black father of SEVEN. He was gunned down by police in North Carolina as he was allegedly driving away from them, posing no danger to officers. pic.twitter.com/TtUAqW5hFd
– Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) April 24, 2021
The sheriff was wearing an active body camera during the shooting, authorities said, which could provide some answers as to what happened.
The community has required the sheriff’s office and district attorney to release the images, although that can only be done by order of a judge, according to the Pasquotank County Sheriff, Tommy Wooten.
During an emergency meeting on Friday, Elizabeth City Council members agreed to present a court order if the sheriff’s office denies your request to release the body camera images.
A letter requesting that the images be released to the public will be delivered to the Sheriff’s Office on Monday, according to Elizabeth City Manager, Montré Freeman. The Sheriff has three days to respond, after that term is fulfilled it will be when the city may request the court to order posting the videos said.
Governor Roy Cooper has also called for the images to be released “as quickly as possible” . The protests in the days after the shooting also demanded the release of the images.
Initial reports of the shooting in Elizabeth City and death of Andrew Brown, Jr. this week are tragic and extremely concerning. The body camera footage should be made public as quickly as possible and the SBI should investigate thoroughly to ensure accountability.
– Governor Roy Cooper (@NC_Governor) April 23, 2021
Community leaders asked that at least Brown’s family watch the tapes right now.
“They can handle the truth, but they cannot handle the silence ”, said the Reverend William Barber , former director of the North Carolina NAACP.
In the wake of the shooting, seven Unidentified sheriffs were placed on paid administrative leave on Friday. Pasquotank County Manager, Sparty Hammett, confirmed the personnel changes to ABC News.
It is unclear if the seven deputies include the one who fatally shot Brown. The anonymous officer was placed on administrative leave after the shooting pending a review by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, according to Wooten.