$30M Lawsuit Claims Wrongful Death In Andrew Brown Jr. Shooting

ELIZABETH CITY, NC — The family of Andrew Brown, Jr. has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Pasquotank County Sheriff’s Office seeking damages of more than $30 million, according to reports.

Brown was shot to death in April by sheriff’s deputies attempting to arrest him on drug charges. Decrying the fact he was unarmed, protesters descended upon Elizabeth City, making the incident a national story in the wake of numerous police deaths involving white officers encountering Black people.

Brown’s aunt, who is the executor of his estate, filed the lawsuit, according to WRAL TV in Fayetteville.

Attorney Bakari Sellers filed the suit in federal court, telling reporters on Wednesday there was a better chance of making a difference.

“We had to come where we believe Lady Justice is blind and will have all things being equal,” Sellers said. “This is where we believe that finally, Andrew Brown can get justice, because he did not get justice in life, and so far he hasn’t even gotten justice in death.”

Brown, 42, was in his car on April 21 when a unit of sheriff’s deputies rushed toward him with their weapons drawn.

He backed his car away from them as they commanded him to stop and get out, and eventually shifted gears to drive forward, striking one of the deputies with the side of the car as he passed.

The deputies opened fire on the car, and an autopsy later revealed Brown had been struck by five bullets — one of them striking him fatally in the back of the head.

Sellers and attorneys Chantel Cherry-Lassiter and Ben Crump sought video footage of the shooting incident and subsequent prosecution of the officers involved in the shooting.

But Pasquotank County District Attorney Andrew Womble announced the shooting “while tragic, was justified,” and declined to bring charges against any of the deputies involved.