HAIL OF BULLETS
Andrew Brown Jr. video shows he ‘drove at officer’ as cops say fatal shooting ‘justified’ & he died with ‘meth in mouth’
BODYCAM showing the shooting of Andrew Brown Jr has been released and reveals he "drove at an officer" before being killed - as cops branded the death "justified".
died with a bag of "off white rock-like substance" in his mouth - which cops believe was crystal meth.
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He was, last month while at the wheel of his car in his driveway - but no cops will be charged.
Deputies had been serving drug-related search and arrest warrants at the time of the shooting.
The Pasquotank County District Attorney Andrew Womble said on Tuesday that Brown had been selling heroin laced with fentanyl and cocaine.
Bodycam footage of the fatal incident .
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However, today the attorney showed both stills and live-action footage of the incident, that was taken just before 8.30am on April 21.
At least four armed officers could be seen walking towards Brown's vehicle, before the 42-year-old appears to drive towards them.
"LET ME SEE YOUR HANDS, HANDS, HANDS," officers are heard shouting, while others tell him to "STOP THE CAR."
Several rounds of gunfire can then be heard erupting from the cops' weapons.
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The car then appears to come to a stop a few yards away, before Brown is pulled from the car as another officer asks for EMS to be called to report "gunshot wounds."
The district attorney confirmed that there were 14 shell casings were found at the scene - nine from a Glock and five from an automatic rifle.
During an autopsy, Brown was found with a baggy of "off white rock-like substance" in his mouth, according to Womble.
He later determined that cops fatally shot Brown "reasonably and only when a violent felon used a deadly weapon to place their lives in danger."
"I found that Brown's actions and conduct were indeed dangerous by the time of the shooting," Womble said.
The attorney concluded the press conference by determining that the shooting was "justified" and that the officers involved will not face criminal charges.
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After the footage was released, attorney's for Brown's family released a statement.
"Andrew Brown Jr., his grieving family, and this community deserve answers. And they received anything but from D.A. Womble’s attempt to whitewash this unjustified killing.
"To say this shooting was justified, despite the known facts, is both an insult and a slap in the face to Andrew’s family, the Elizabeth City community, and to rational people everywhere.
"Not only was the car moving away from officers, but four of them did not fire their weapons - clearly they did not feel that their lives were endangered. And the bottom line is that Andrew was killed by a shot to the back of the head. Interestingly, none of these issues were appropriately addressed in today’s press conference."
They went on demand that the court releases the full video, alongside the investigation report. They also asked for the Federal Department of Justice to "intervene immediately."
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Over previous weeks, pressure has been placed on authorities to release the video and calls for a special prosecutor to take the state’s case over from Womble.
Brown’s family previously released an independent autopsy showing he was shot five times, including in the back of the head.
The exam noted four wounds to the right arm and one to the head. The state’s autopsy has not been released yet.
The family’s lawyers also released a copy of the death certificate, which lists the cause of death as a “penetrating gunshot wound of the head.”
The certificate, signed by a paramedic services instructor who serves as a local medical examiner, describes the death as a homicide.
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.
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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."
When asked how many shots were fired, one of the family's legal team said "we lost count in 20 seconds how many shots."
They also claimed that cops were "shooting and saying let me see your hands at the same time and he's complying."
Witnesses at the time reported hearing six to eight shots ring out after as deputy opened fire at Brown.
The father-of-ten suffered a fatal gun shot to the back of his head, according to the autopsy.
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Attorney Crump described the fatal shot as a "kill shot to the back of the head" that "penetrated his skull and brain."
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The gunshot allegedly caused skull fractures and did not exit his skull, according to the family's autopsy.
Brown's son, Khalil Ferebee, described his father's death as an "execution".
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Hearing to be held on release of bodycam video in fatal shooting of Andrew Brown
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