Andrew Brown Laid To Rest As Demands For Police Video Continue

ELIZABETH CITY, NC — Funeral services for Andrew Brown, Jr., a Black man fatally shot by officers in Elizabeth City, were held Monday, renewing calls for the release of police body camera footage of the moments leading to his death.

Brown, 42, was shot five times including a fatal shot in the back of the head by Pasquotank County Sheriff's Office deputies April 21 as they attempted to serve an arrest and search warrant on narcotics allegations. According to early eyewitness accounts, Brown was shot in the back of the head while trying to get away from officers — an allegation that sparked more than a week of protests in Elizabeth City as well as demands for transparency.

Details of the moments that led to the shooting remain under shroud, however, after a North Carolina Superior Court judge last week denied a request to publically release officer body camera footage of the fatal shooting. Brown's family was shown a heavily redacted 20-second clip of the incident.

The FBI Charlotte field office announced last week it is opening a federal civil rights investigation into the case.

SEE ALSO: FBI Launches Civil Rights Probe Into Andrew Brown's Death

Standing at a podium overlooking Brown's rose-covered casket, the attorney for his family made an impassioned call for the release of police video.

Brown was killed "literally hours" after the jury verdict announcement in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted for his role in the death of George Floyd, Brown family attorney Ben Crump said.

"We thought that George Floyd represented that we were going to stop this unnecessary, unjustifiable killing of Black men," Crump said.

"We are here to make this plea for justice because Andrew was killed unjustifiably as many Black men in America have been killed, shot in the back, shot going away from the police," Crump said. "Because Andrew cannot make the plea for justice, it is up to us to make the plea for justice," he said, his hand making a sweeping gesture to the gathered congregation.

"We all know what they're going to show," Crump said of the police video. "We know that it was a reckless, unjustifiable shooting."

Other eulogies led to calls for reform of racist systems.

"We stand here, and I was thinking about what I would say, not just to this church, not just to Elizabeth City but to the world watching, and it kept coming up in my head that here we are again. Here we are again," family attorney Bakari Sellers said. "To many people, this is just another black body, but to us, it's a brother, a father, a nephew, a loved one," he said.

"I know there's this conversation about racism in the United States of America. But we would not be here today standing over another body… if that racism did not exist," Sellers said.

"I just want to say, everybody keep their heads up," Brown's eldest son, Khalil Ferebee told the congregation. "It's a terrible way we had to be together like this, but seeing everybody, I'm glad we're together like this right now," he said.

"He would have loved this," Ferebee said.

"As we celebrate the life of Andrew Brown, Jr., let us not act like we're supposed to be here," civil rights activist and minister Rev. Al Sharpton said. "Too often we come to funerals of people that are unjustly brought to death, and act like this is a natural occurrence. We are going to celebrate him, but we are not going to excuse the fact that we shouldn't have to be here to do this."

SEE ALSO:

• Judge Rules On Release Of Police Videos Of Andrew Brown Shooting
• Andrew Brown Shooting: NC Governor Calls For A Special Prosecutor
• Autopsy Shows Andrew Brown Shot 5 Times, Including Back Of Head
• Andrew Brown Shooting: Family Only Shown 'Snippet' Of Video