The family of Andrew Brown Jr. saw a brief clip of the sheriff's office shooting that took his life, according to attorneys representing Brown's family. Elizabeth City Attorney Mike Cox showed the family a moment of the incident.
Pasquotank Sheriff's Office deputies shot and killed Brown, 42, while serving a search warrant in Elizabeth City, N.C. Wednesday morning, according to the sheriff's office.
Lawyers for the family of Andrew Brown criticized the Pasquotank Sheriff's Office Monday for delaying sharing the body camera video.
The family was supposed to view the video Monday morning, attorney Ben Crump said in a press conference. However, that did not happen Monday morning because officials wanted to blur the faces of law enforcement officers.
Pasquotank County Attorney Michael Cox said state law allows them "to blur some faces on the video" to protect an active investigation. "That process takes time," he said in a statement.
"As soon as these redactions are complete, we will allow the family to view this footage," which could be as soon as today, Cox said. "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."
By Monday afternoon, the family was shown a 20-second clip from one body camera. Crump said the family deserved to see the unredacted video.
Attorney Chantel Cherry-Lassiter watched a 20-second portion of body camera video with Brown’s family. Lassiter said Brown did not appear to be a threat to officers as he backed his vehicle out of his driveway and tried to drive away from deputies with guns drawn.
“There was no time in the 20 seconds that we saw where he was threatening the officers in any kind of way,” she told reporters at a news conference.
When asked whether Brown was shot in the back, attorney Harry Daniels said, “Yes, back of the head.”
An eyewitness account and emergency scanner traffic had previously indicated Brown was shot in the back as he tried to drive away.
“My dad got executed just by trying to save his own life,” said Brown’s adult son Khalil Ferebee, who watched the video.
Lassiter, who watched the video multiple times and took notes, said the shooting started as soon as the video began and that she lost count of the number of gunshots fired by law enforcement officers armed with rifles and handguns. She said she counted as many as eight deputies in the video, some wearing tactical uniforms and some in plainclothes.
“They’re shooting and saying ‘Let me see your hands’ at the same time,” she said. She added: “Let’s be clear. This was an execution.”
Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner, who was killed by police in New York City in 2014, joined the family Monday at the sheriff's office.
"They shoot a man in the back. They won’t show the video," Carr said. "If he had a fight with those police officers, the video would be all over the nation."
The family’s lawyers were also angry about what they described as rude treatment by Pasquotank County Attorney R. Michael Cox, to whom they attributed the decision to limit the amount of footage shown. They criticized authorities for sharing only 20 seconds of video from a single body camera.
“They’re trying to hide something,” attorney Benjamin Crump said.
Attorney Bakari Sellers said Cox used profanity toward him. “I’ve never been talked to like I was talked to in there,” Sellers said.
Cox did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
City officials declared a state of emergency ahead of the release of body cam footage showing the shooting.
On Sunday, Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Schools announced that classes would be going virtual as the civil unrest continued in the community.
Under North Carolina law, a judge must approve the release of body camera video. On Monday, the city council, which does not have oversight over the county sheriff's office, will ask for the video to be released.
A coalition of news organizations, including Spectrum News 1, has already petitioned the courts to release the video.
Anticipating the release of the video, Elizabeth City declared a state of emergency as of 8 a.m. Monday.
Over the weekend, the sheriff's office said it also planned to ask a judge to release the video.
Related: Sheriff calls for outside investigation of everyone involved in the shooting
The sheriff's office said multiple deputies fired shots when Brown was killed. Seven deputies are on leave as the State Bureau of Investigations investigates the shooting.
Gov. Roy Cooper and Attorney General Josh Stein last week called for the video to be released. Cooper said the details in the initial reports about the shooting “are tragic and extremely concerning.”
“The body camera footage should be made public as quickly as possible,” the governor tweeted Friday.
Chairman of Pasquotank County Board of Commissioners Lloyd Griffin released a statement expressing concern over the possibility of politcians calling for the release of the footage impacting the investigation.
Earlier Monday, a search warrant was released that indicated investigators had recorded Brown selling small amounts of cocaine and methamphetamine to an informant. Crump argued that authorities were trying to release negative information about Brown while shielding themselves by holding back the video.
The warrant was sought by Wooten’s office and signed by a judge to allow the search of Brown’s Elizabeth City home. It said that an investigator in nearby Dare County was told by the informant that the person had been purchasing crack cocaine and other drugs from Brown for over a year. The informant described purchasing drugs at the house that was the target of the search.
In March, narcotics officers used the informant to conduct controlled purchases of methamphetamine and cocaine from Brown on two separate occasions, according to the warrant, which said both drug transactions were recorded using audio and video equipment.
The search warrant said investigators believed Brown was storing drugs in the home or two vehicles. The document, which indicated the search was not completed, did not list anything found.
Two arrest warrants released last week charged him with possession with intent to sell and deliver 3 grams of each of the drugs.
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