Protesters arrested in Elizabeth City after judge's controversial ruling on bodycam video

Judge Jeffrey Foster said he would give the State Bureau of Investigation and the Pasquotank County Sheriff's Office 30 to 45 days to finish the investigation before allowing the video to be released.

The decision didn't sit well with much of the community, which turned out for an eighth straight day of protests following the death of Andrew Brown Jr.

Elizabeth City officials declared a state of emergency on Monday, and a nightly curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. remains in effect.

About two dozen people ignored the curfew Wednesday night, and the protest became more confrontational at about 11 p.m. At least seven people were arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and violating the curfew as law enforcement cleared the streets.

Two of those arrested are from Elizabeth City, and another two are from nearby communities. The other three are from outside the area.

Foster gave authorities 10 days to blur the faces and redact the names of the deputies involved from the video and audio before Brown's immediate family and one of the family's attorneys will have access to it.

The judge also denied a motion by a group of media outlets, including WRAL News, to immediately release the video, saying they lacked standing in the case and had no right to see it or distribute it.

Wayne Kendall, an attorney for Brown's family, called the disclosure of the video to the family a "partial victory."

Attorney Chantel Cherry-Lassiter described what she saw in that video during a news conference on Monday, saying deputies started shooting at Brown as he sat in his car with his hands on the steering wheel and the gunfire continued as he tried to drive off to get away from the shots.

District Attorney Andrew Womble refuted Cherry-Lassiter's account in court, calling it "patently false." He said the video shows that no shots were fired until Brown started to leave in his car and that he struck deputies both backing up and driving forward.

"We need to protect the credibility of witnesses to tell a credible story," Womble said in calling for a delay in releasing the video.

Kendall fired back after the court hearing that Womble had access to all of the videos, while Cherry-Lassiter saw only "a small snippet."

"He has it in his power to let the whole world see all five videos," Kendall said.

"Show the tape," attorney Harry Daniels said, suggesting that the video would already be publicly available if it showed no wrongdoing by the deputies.

Elizabeth City residents and some of Brown's relatives echoed that stance.

"Right now, nobody knows what happened [or] why it happened. We'd like to know why it happened," said Lydia Brown, Brown's grandmother.

"They got the community confused. We just want answers," said Daniel Bowser, who said he knew Andrew Brown for 30 years.

"Still no justice. It's like that for all the Black people," a local resident who identified herself only as Susetta said. "We're never going to win. If you go a little forward, you're going back double."

Rev. Nathan Butler, pastor of Victorious Living Church of God in Christ in Virginia Beach, Va., said he came to Elizabeth City to participate in the ongoing demonstrations calling for justice in the case.

"Evil prevails when good men do nothing," Butler said. "My calling is a higher calling from God. If God says to violate that curfew, it’ll be violated.

"[Authorities] need to know we’re not going to sit back and sing 'Kumbaya' while you shoot people in the back of the head, especially people that look like me and my family members," he added.

Protesters said the nightly marches are a precursor to a much larger demonstration planned for Sunday afternoon, the day before Brown’s funeral.

Law enforcement officers from outside Elizabeth City have been called in to help keep the protests from spinning out of control. Many officers are being housed in dormitories at Elizabeth City State University.

"If you can conjure up a law for us to be in at 8 o’clock, you can conjure up a law to protect us," Elizabeth City resident Steelo Brown agreed. "At the end of the day, we need more policies for our protection."

H.P. Williams Jr., an attorney for the deputies, asked that the video only be shown to Brown's family and never released to the media or the public.

"There's no compelling public interest. There’s a difference between wanting and needing to see it," Williams said.

"The officers are very distraught. They feel for the family of Andrew Brown," he added. "But as I’ve said, they believe the shooting was justified."

Pasquotank County Sheriff Tommy Wooten and local officials want the video released. County Attorney Mike Cox, who represents the sheriff's office, said he didn't think releasing the video would impede the investigation and could give the public "some ability to understand what happened that day."

Mike Tadych, an attorney representing the media groups seeking the release of the videos, agreed.

"It’s absolutely compelling to release it. Everyone can have their opinion what happened the video may or may not show," Tadych said. "In trying to hold our public officials accountable, it is information."

After the hearing, Tadych called Foster's ruling that the media had no standing under the law to ask for the release of the video "unprecedented." He said he's petitioned for law enforcement video more than 30 times, and only once before has a judge excluded even part of the video.

The media organizations plan to appeal the ruling.

Gov. Roy Cooper and Attorney General Josh Stein both said the video should be released.

"I believe in as much transparency as possible, and I believe this video should be released as quickly as possible," Cooper said during a briefing on the coronavirus pandemic, adding that he believes the video should be considered a public record.

Stein said the state law requiring a court order to release bodycam video "needs to be rebalanced" to put the onus on law enforcement to keep the video under wraps rather than on the media or family members to get it released.

Cooper on Tuesday called for a special prosecutor to take over the case to "assure the community and Mr. Brown’s family that a decision on pursuing criminal charges is conducted without bias."

A criminal justice reform task force that Cooper commissioned a year ago recommended special prosecutors in all cases involving law enforcement shootings.

"It's all about trust," said Stein, who co-chaired the task force. "The public wants to know that, in matters like this, whatever decision is made, whether it's to bring criminal charges or not bring criminal charges, that it was made without bias."

Stein said his office could take over the case if Womble requested it and has offered Womble assistance with the case.

The FBI announced Tuesday that it has opened a federal civil rights investigation into Brown's shooting.