At the tail end of last month, 42-year-old Andrew Brown Jr. was shot four times in the arm by officers and once in the head, killing him instantly. Residents of Elizabeth City, North Carolina and the rest of the country have since taken to the streets to call for justice for Brown Jr. After the incident, Pasquotank County District Attorney Andrew Womble claimed that Brown Jr. was threatening the officers involved prior to the shooting.
A narrative his family aggressively denies, their attorney previously claimed that the bodycam footage of the incident dispels these claims. Unfortunately for the family, the newly released bodycam footage of the incident has further justified Womble’s decision to not press charges in the “justified” shooting.
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Released Tuesday (May 18), the body camera footage presents numerous officers pulling up to Brown Jr.’s home as he sits in his parked BMW. The video then shows officers hopping out of their car and aiming their weapons at Andrew’s car as they surround it, swearing at the victim. He then drives off as police unleash bullets on him.
Next, he drives over a lawn and crashes into a tree as police follow, continuing to surround him and yell commands at him. We will not be sharing the video here, but TMZ has footage of the moments the deadly confrontation occurred. Viewer discretion is heavily advised.
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Brown’s family explained the video last week, saying a cop fired a single shot at Brown before he began firing back in fear for his life. They add he never made any menacing actions towards officers, calling the killing unjustified.
D.A. Andrew Womble presented the video at a press conference where he confirmed no charges would be filed because he sees the shooting as “justified,” adding there was an apparent risk to the officers’ lives that justified the use of the deadly force.
We’ll keep you updated on how Brown Jr.’s family responds to this decision.
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