NewsAmerica in Crisis

Actions

Sheriff: 7 deputies in North Carolina on leave after fatal shooting

IMG_8778.jpg
Posted at 8:08 PM, Apr 23, 2021
and last updated 2021-04-23 20:08:58-04

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. - Seven deputies are on administrative leave followingWednesday's fatal shooting of Andrew Brown.

Pasquotank County Sheriff Tommy Wooten told WTKR on Friday that three deputies resigned, but those deputies weren't involved in the incident.

Wooten says District Attorney Andrew Womble isn't sure the body camera footage of the shooting should be released before the investigation is complete and says he plans to look into if he can do anything on his end to release it.

This news comes after the sheriff held a press conference Friday.

According to the Pasquotank County Sheriff's Office, a search warrant was conducted in the 400 block of Perry Street at around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday. A deputy shot and fatally wounded the resident while serving the search warrant, officials said. That resident was later identified as Brown.

In a video statement released Thursday night, Wooten and Deputy Chief Daniel Fogg said Brown's warrant was for felony drug charges and added that he "was a convicted felon with a history of resisting arrest."

Community members have been peacefully protesting, demanding the release of the body camera footage and hoping it will show the events leading up to the shooting.

The Pasquotank Co. chapter of the NAACP, local city officials, and the Brown family attorney spoke after meeting with the district attorney on Thursday.They are also calling for the release of the body camera footage and a chance to speak to the sheriff.

Womble and Pasquotank County Attorney R. Michael Cox released a joint statement saying that the body camera footage cannot be released at this time due to North Carolina law. Still, the attorneys are working to arrange a private viewing of the footage by Brown's family.

City council members held an emergency meeting Friday to direct the city attorney to file a petition with the court for the footage.

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is handling the investigation.

WTKR first reported this story.