Police Misconduct

Protests Call For Release Of Fatal NC Police Shooting Video

Officials say County Attorney Michael Cox filed a request to have the video of the shooting released.

Protests Call For Release Of Fatal NC Police Shooting Video
Travis Long / The News & Observer / AP
SMS

Officials in Elizabeth City, North Carolina declared a state of emergency yesterday.

They're waiting on the decision from a judge to potentially release video of the police shooting that left Andrew Brown Jr. dead.

Demonstrators outside the county attorney's home last night demanded officials publicly release video of the shooting.

Officials say County Attorney Michael Cox filed a request to have the video of the shooting released, but under state law a judge must sign off on that. 

Brown's family and their lawyers have seen a 20-second portion of body camera video.

One of the attorneys said Brown did not appear to be a threat to officers when he backed his car out of his driveway and tried to drive away from deputies who had their guns out.

"This was an execution. Andrew Brown was in his driveway. The sheriff truck blocked him in his driveway, so he could not exit his driveway," said Chantel Cherry-Lassiter, attorney for the family of Andrew Brown Jr. "Andrew had his hands on his steering wheel. He was not reaching for anything. He was not touching anything. He wasn't throwing anything around. He had his hands firmly on the steering wheel."

Police say deputies were serving Brown drug-related search and arrest warrants. 

In a video statement, the county sheriff said he's asking for patience while the state bureau of investigation looks into the case.

He called it a "tragic incident" but said body camera videos only tell part of the story.