On Tuesday, North Carolina District Attorney Andrew Womble said no charges will be filed against sheriff’s deputies who fatally shot Andrew Brown Jr. during a drug-related search and arrest warrant procedure in Elizabeth City on April 21.
Brown’s family released a statement calling the decision “both an insult and a slap in the face.” Authorities have not publicly released body cam footage of the incident.
An independent autopsy released by Brown’s family found that Brown was struck by five bullets, including one in the back of the head, according to The Associated Press.
District Attorney Andrew Womble said at a news conference that Brown used his car as a ‘deadly weapon,’ causing Pasquotank County deputies to believe it was necessary to use deadly force.
Womble, who acknowledged Brown wasn’t armed with guns or other weapons, said the deputies will face no criminal charges after he reviewed a state investigation of what happened.
Brown’s family and representatives said body cam footage shows Brown driving away from officers when he was shot.
“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,” the statement said. “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.”
Authorities have not publicly released body cam footage of the incident.
