District Attorney Andrew Womble announced Tuesday that no officers would be charged in the fatal shooting of Andrew Brown Jr. last month.
North Carolina deputies were “justified” when they shot and killed Andrew Brown Jr., a 42-year-old Black motorist, while trying to arrest him as he fled by car last month, District Attorney Andrew Womble announced Tuesday.
No police will be charged in Brown’s death, Womble said.
The news came as portions of the bodycam footage from the incident were released to the public. The video shows Brown trying to escape in his car as police closed in to arrest him. Cops fired 14 times, striking Brown in the head.
“This decision was based on the facts, the evidence and the law, and not on public opinion,” Womble said.
He said the video clearly showed that Brown was using his car as a weapon.
“You're not allowed to drive over police officers...When you employ a car in a manner that puts officers lives in danger, that is a threat. I don't care what direction you're going in — forward, backward, sideways. I don’t care if you're stationary,” Womble said.
Brown was being investigated as a suspected drug dealer. Doorbell cam footage shows the SWAT team turning up at his Elizabeth City home to arrest him after undercover cops made drug buys.
His death on April 21 — days after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of George Floyd’s murder — caused uproar.
At his funeral, his coffin was carried in a carriage pulled by two white horses. Doves were released at his graveside. Brown’s family hired lawyer Ben Crump, who also represented Floyd’s family.
“It was a kill shot to the back of the head,” Crump said.
Inside Edition showed the bodycam video to former LAPD Sergeant Cheryl Dorsey.
“We don’t execute people because they’re bad actors. And why is it that these officers — perception is always fear and the likelihood of grave bodily harm if a Black suspect gets away, but we see them take armed white men in custody — how without incident?” Dorsey said.
Brown’s family has called his death an execution. Now, the situation remains tense following the release of the video.
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