The latest on the police shooting of Andrew Brown Jr.

By Melissa Macaya, Veronica Rocha, Mike Hayes and Melissa Mahtani, CNN

Updated 7:10 p.m. ET, May 18, 2021
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11:11 a.m. ET, May 18, 2021

Andrew Brown Jr. posed no threat to officers, his attorney says

From CNN's Amir Vera and Keith Allen

Chance Lynch, one of the Brown family attorneys, said he and the family were able to watch body and dash camera footage of Andrew Brown Jr.'s death last Tuesday, which they said proved police were unjustified in shooting him.

Brown was fatally shot April 21 when Pasquotank County deputies in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, were trying to execute a warrant.

Lynch said he saw Brown sitting in his vehicle when officers arrived and started yelling different things at Brown like "show your hands" or "get out."

"At all times his hands were visible, you could see he was not a threat," Lynch said. "It was so much yelling, we could barely understand what was happening."

A shot was fired, Lynch said, and Brown put his car in reverse several feet from where the officers were standing.

"At no point did we see any police officers behind his vehicle," Lynch said. "At no point did we see Mr. Brown make contact with law enforcement."

District Attorney Andrew Womble, who is responsible for the district that includes Pasquotank County, said officers fired when the car Brown was driving moved toward them and the car made contact with officers at least two times before shots were fired.

Lynch said he did see officers firing their weapons at Brown's car. He found it difficult to count how many shots were fired.

"When they approached the vehicle, we counted approximately six if not more bullet holes in the passenger side of his car," Lynch said. "Windows were shattered. We were able to see one shot in the front windshield and approximately six (bullet holes) in the back windshield."

Lynch said at some point there was a "final shot" at which point Brown lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a tree across the street. Officers pulled Brown's body out of the car and laid him face first on the ground. No weapons were found in Brown's car after police searched it.

"It was absolutely, unequivocally unjustified," Lynch said. "Our legal team is more committed now to pursue justice ... because what we saw today was unconstitutional and it was unjustifiable."

The district attorney will hold a news conference shortly "to discuss the results" of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation's probe into Brown's fatal shooting.

10:31 a.m. ET, May 18, 2021

The Brown family viewed police body camera video last week

From CNN's Amir Vera and Keith Allen

Andrew Brown Jr.'s family members viewed body and dash camera footage of his death last Tuesday, which they said proved police were unjustified in shooting him.

Brown was fatally shot April 21 when Pasquotank County deputies in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, were trying to execute a warrant.

Chance Lynch, one of the Brown family attorneys, said he and the family were able to watch six videos. The first video was a dash camera video with no sound, and the last five were all body camera footage.

"We were able to see some critical footage that yields some truth and transparency to what we thought we would see from the beginning," Lynch said during a news conference last Tuesday.

Pasquotank County Chief Deputy Daniel Fogg said last Tuesday the video showed the attempt to serve an arrest warrant against Brown, as well as officers attempts to provide Brown medical care after the shooting.

"It was my hope that we will be able to release the video publicly so everyone could see for themselves what happened," Pasquotank County Sheriff Tommy Wooten added. "We respect the court's decision and took an oath to abide by north Carolina law and we've done just that."

The family and attorney's viewing of the video came after Judge Jeff Foster issued a written order allowing for Brown's family and one of their legal representatives to view the videos — but they will not be allowed to receive copies or make recordings.

Lynch said he saw Brown sitting in his vehicle when officers arrived and started yelling different things at Brown like "show your hands" or "get out."

"At all times his hands were visible, you could see he was not a threat," Lynch said. "It was so much yelling, we could barely understand what was happening."

Read more here.

10:31 a.m. ET, May 18, 2021

District attorney will discuss investigation into Andrew Brown Jr. shooting

From CNN’s Jamiel Lynch and Devon M. Sayers

Pasquotank County District Attorney Andrew Womble will hold a news conference shortly "to discuss the results" of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation's probe into the fatal shooting of Andrew Brown Jr.

Brown was shot and killed by Pasquotank deputies serving a search warrant on April 21, according to the sheriff's office. 

During a county commissioner’s meeting on Monday evening, several public comment letters were read that asked for the firing of the three officers, as well as called for charges to be filed against them and a special prosecutor to be assigned to the case.

Pasquotank Sheriff Tommy Wooten placed the three deputies who fired shots at Brown on administrative leave. Four other deputies who responded to the scene, but did not shoot were reinstated to active duty.

CNN has reached out to the State Bureau of Investigation on their findings in the investigation.