Andrew Brown Shooting: Family Only Shown 'Snippet' Of Video

ELIZABETH CITY, NC — The family of an Elizabeth City man shot in the head while fleeing police last week expressed outrage Monday after they said they were verbally disrespected and shown only a heavily redacted 20-second clip of the incident.

Andrew Brown, Jr., 42, was shot and killed by Pasquotank County Sheriff's Office deputies April 21 as they attempted to serve an arrest and search warrant that alleged that Brown sold small amounts of cocaine and methamphetamine to an informant. The police informant claimed to authorities to have purchased drugs from Brown for more than a year.

The shooting occurred the same day former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted for his role in the death of George Floyd in a trial that gripped national attention due to footage of the incident.

"They are trying to hide something. They don't want to see everything," Brown family attorney Benjamin Crump said during a news conference Monday afternoon after the viewing.

Leading into Monday, many hoped the video's release to Brown's family would shed light on what transpired in the moments before Brown was targeted in a volley of gunfire. According to early eyewitness accounts, Brown was shot in the back of the head while trying to get away from officers, which prompted days of local protest and calls for transparency.

Elizabeth City's mayor, who was among parties filing a formal request with Pasquotank County officials to release the video footage of the shooting, preemptively declared a state of emergency Monday ahead of the family's viewing of the footage.

"It seems likely that the video and audio footage will be released in the very near future," Mayor Bettie Parker said. "In order to ensure the safety of our citizens and their property, City officials realize there may potentially be a period of civil unrest with the City following the public release of that footage."

SEE ALSO: Calls Mount For Body Cam Footage In Andrew Brown Jr. Shooting

In a released statement, Pasquotank County Attorney R. Michael Cox said that he received the request to view the police footage Sunday evening. "[W]e began working immediately to make that happen as soon as possible," he said. "The law also allows us to blur some faces on the video and that process takes time," and may be done to protect an active internal investigation, he said.

"As soon as these redactions are complete, we will allow the family to view this footage," Cox said. "We hope this occurs today, but the actual time will be driven by the completion of the redactions. We are also continuing to seek transparency within the law and continue our efforts to get a court order that would allow the video to be released to the public."

What the family was presented with Monday, however, was more than a redaction, according to Brown family attorneys.

"We only saw a snippet of the video," Crump said. Authorities only wanted to allow two members of Brown's family a chance to view the footage, with no legal counsel present, he said. "We do not feel that what the county attorney offered was transparency at all."

According to the legal team, which includes attorneys Bakari Sellers and Chantel Cherry-Lassiter, body camera footage should exist from at least seven responding officers at the scene, as well as dash camera footage and that of at least one camera mounted on a pole outside Brown's home.

Sellers accused Cox — the county attorney — of using disrespectful language, including, using an expletive when addressing him as the family's attorney.

According to the group of attorneys, the 20-second clip began with footage of at least five officers running to the driver's side of Brown's vehicle with guns drawn and shooting as both his hands gripped the steering wheel. He attempted to back away from officers, not toward them, as he tried to evade getting shot, they said. After his car crashed into a tree, they continued to shoot at him, Cherry-Lassiter said.

"They were shooting and saying, 'let me see your hands,' at the same time," she said. "Let's be clear, this was an execution."

Friday, Gov. Roy Cooper weighed in, calling for a state-level investigation and saying body camera footage needed to be released quickly.

"Initial reports of the shooting in Elizabeth City and death of Andrew Brown, Jr. this week are tragic and extremely concerning," Cooper said. "The body camera footage should be made public as quickly as possible and the [State Bureau of Investigation] should investigate thoroughly to ensure accountability."

According to Pasquotank County Sheriff Tommy Wooten II, several deputies fired weapons at Brown. At least seven PCSO deputies are on administrative leave pending an investigation by SBI, WMBF reported.