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2021-04-28 c
CRACK-DEALING FATHER OF 10 WITH 180-PAGE RAP SHEET TRIED TWICE TO RUN OVER OFFICERS SERVING WARRANT

North Carolina protests kick off as judge REFUSES to release bodycam of Andrew Brown, Jr. being shot dead by cops: Family will only be allowed to watch 'redacted' footage

• Brown, 42, was shot and killed by police in North Carolina at 8.30am on April 21
• Police are yet to release bodycam footage; his family have called it an execution
• Judge Jeffrey Foster on Wednesday denied a media petition to release the footage publicly for at least 30 days, saying it would impede the investigation
• Brown's family will be allowed to watch redacted footage from five body cams
• The family can watch the footage within ten days but not take copies
• Their attorneys said the decision was 'deeply disappointing', adding: 'Video evidence is the key to discerning the truth and getting well-deserved justice'
• District Attorney Andrew Womble had earlier told the judge he disagreed that Brown's car was stationary when the shooting started
• That was a characterization by attorneys for the family of Brown Jr.

A judge has refused to release bodycam footage of Andrew Brown Jr. being shot dead by police to the media after a prosecutor said he hit deputies with his car before they fired the shots that killed him.

Brown, 42, was shot and killed by police in Elizabeth City, North Carolina at 8.30am on April 21 while at the wheel of his car in his driveway. Police are yet to release bodycam footage of the incident; his family have called it an execution.

Judge Jeffrey Foster denied a media petition to release the footage publicly for at least 30 days, saying it might impede the ongoing investigation.

Brown's family will allowed to watch redacted footage from five body cameras and and one dashboard cam within the next ten days.Their attorney said up to eight officers were at the scene. The family can watch the footage but not take copies.

District Attorney Andrew Womble had earlier told the judge that he viewed body camera video and disagreed with a characterization by attorneys for the family of Brown Jr. that his car was stationary when the shooting started.

Attorneys for the Brown family called the judge's decision 'deeply disappointing', adding: 'Video evidence is the key to discerning the truth and getting well-deserved justice.'

An attorney for the officers said they are 'very distraught' and opposed the footage being released, but added: 'We believe the shooting was justified.'

The FBI launched a civil rights probe Tuesday into the death of Brown Jr., as his family released an independent autopsy showing he was shot five times, including in the back of the head.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper called for a special prosecutor while pressure built on authorities to release body camera footage of last week's shooting.

Police said they were carrying out an arrest warrant for drugs offenses and claim Brown was a drug dealer with a rap sheet dating back to 1988. Brown had a 180 page criminal record and had been filmed selling narcotics in the weeks leading up to his death, Fox News reported Monday.

DA Womble, who opposed the footage's immediate release, said Wednesday the video shows that Brown´s car made contact with law enforcement twice before shots could be heard on the video.

'As it backs up, it does make contact with law enforcement officers,' he said, adding that the car stops again.

'The next movement of the car is forward. It is in the direction of law enforcement and makes contact with law enforcement. It is then and only then that you hear shots.'

In response to Womble's remarks in court, lawyer Chantel Cherry-Lassiter, who watched the footage with Brown's son, defended her description of the footage.

'At no time have I given any misrepresentations. I still stand by what I saw in that clip,' she said, adding that she watched the clip 'over and over,' taking notes.

Womble argued that body camera video from the shooting, a portion of which was shown to the family on Monday, should be kept from the public for another month so that state investigators can make progress on their probe of the shooting.

Foster ruled: 'The release at this time would create a serious threat to the fair, impartial and orderly administration of justice. Confidentiality is necessary to protect either an active internal or criminal investigation or a potential internal or criminal investigation.'

Judge Foster said he would revisit the issue of making the footage publicly available in 30 to 45 days, adding: 'The court will, in its discretion, consider at that time further release of the video based on the factors as they exist at that time.'

A North Carolina law that took effect in 2016 allows law enforcement agencies to show body camera video privately to a victim's family, but it generally requires a court to approve any public release.

Media attorney Michael J. Tadych said there is 'absolute public interest' in releasing the tapes. The sheriff's office supported the release of videos, according to Pasquotank County Attorney R. Michael Cox. (read more)