Sheriff: 3 deputies fired weapons in Elizabeth City man's shooting; four who didn't back on duty
Pasquotank County Sheriff Tommy Wooten said Thursday three deputies fired their weapons last week in the fatal shooting of an Elizabeth City man, and he has reinstated four others to active duty who did not.
Andrew Brown Jr., 42, was shot five times by deputies trying to serve a warrant to search his home and car on April 21 as part of a drug investigation. Authorities said he had a history of resisting arrest, so several deputies went to his home.
Three deputies left the sheriff's office after the shooting, and seven others were placed on leave, pending the findings of a State Bureau of Investigation review of the incident.
Wooten said that he reviewed the footage from the deputies' body-worn cameras and the preliminary conclusions of an independent investigation into the shooting before deciding to reinstate Lt. Steven Judd, Sgt. Michael Swindell, Sgt. Kenneth Bishop and Sgt. Joel Lunsford.
"It’s obvious that four of the deputies never fired their weapons and deserve to be reinstated to active duty," Wooten said in a statement. "More investigation is necessary into the three deputies who did fire their weapons, and they will remain on administrative leave pending completion of the internal investigation and/or the criminal investigation being conducted by the State Bureau of Investigation."
The deputies on leave were identified as Investigator Daniel Meads, Deputy Robert Morgan and Cpl. Aaron Lewellyn. Meads wrote the application for the warrant to search Brown’s home, alleging that Brown had twice sold drugs to an informant in March.
Lt. Christopher Terry and Deputy William Harris resigned, while Deputy James Flowers was listed as a pending retirement by the sheriff's office. Wooten said previously that none of the three were involved in Brown's death.
"I promised the citizens of this county I would be transparent and accountable in this matter. I have been," the sheriff said. "I asked the court to make the body camera footage public. I insisted on outside investigations to ensure impartiality. And now I’m releasing the names of the deputies on the scene. I’ll continue to be transparent whenever I can without interfering in the independent investigations."
Despite the sheriff's request, Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Foster ruled Wednesday that the bodycam video wouldn't be released publicly for at least a month.
Foster said he would give the SBI and the Pasquotank County Sheriff's Office 30 to 45 days to finish the investigation before he would consider releasing the video.
A lawyer representing the deputies argued during the court hearing against any public release of the video, saying it could endanger the officers.
Brown's immediate family and one of their attorneys can view the video in 10 days, after authorities have blurred the faces and redacted the voices of the deputies from the video, the judge said.
Brown's adult son, Khalil Ferebee, and an attorney were allowed to see a 20-second segment of video from one body camera on Monday. But authorities said in court Wednesday that there are videos of the shooting from four bodycams and one dashboard camera.
The attorney, Chantel Cherry-Lassiter, said the deputies began shooting at Brown as he sat in his car and then continued firing as he drove off to get away from the shots. District Attorney Andrew Womble refuted that version of events, saying deputies fired only when Brown tried to run them over.
The Pasquotank County Sheriff's Office use-of-force policy discourages deputies from shooting at moving vehicles or their occupants unless there's an imminent threat:
"Shots fired at or from a moving vehicle involve additional considerations and risks, and are rarely effective. When feasible, deputies should take reasonable steps to move out of the path of an approaching vehicle instead of discharging their firearm at the vehicle or any of its occupants.
"A deputy should only discharge a firearm at a moving vehicle or its occupants when the deputy reasonably believes there are no other reasonable means available to avert the imminent threat of the vehicle, or if deadly force other than the vehicle is directed at the deputy or others.
"Deputies should not shoot at any part of a vehicle in an attempt to disable the vehicle."
The FBI announced Tuesday that it has opened a federal civil rights investigation into Brown's shooting.
Gov. Roy Cooper has 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.
Attorney General Josh Stein said his office could take over the case if the local district attorney requested it and has offered authorities any needed assistance with the case.
“Our county is united behind the importance of doing a careful, serious and impartial review of everything that happened,” Wooten said. “Some people want a rush to judgment, and others want to pit people against each other in a way that can only hurt our county. My job is to ensure transparency and accountability, while also preserving the ability for the independent investigators to do their deliberate, painstaking and vital work.”
Town dealing with national glare
Peaceful demonstrations have been held in Elizabeth City nightly since Brown's shooting, demanding the release of the bodycam video so people can see what happened.
City officials issued a state of emergency on Monday and put an 8 p.m. curfew in place. At least seven people were arrested Wednesday night on charges that they violated the curfew.
"It has been hectic and very challenging," Mayor Bettie Parker said of her city becoming the latest flashpoint in the nation's reckoning on race and justice. "We are now, as I think I've said before, a microcosm of what's going on across the nation."
Even though she's been impressed with how the protests have been carried out, Parker imposed the curfew, saying she's seen how demonstrations in other cities turned ugly.
"We've become a focal point, so that means I have to get out front as far as the city's concerned," she said. "At night, I wanted to be proactive and nip it in the bud so that it wouldn't come to be violent."
A City Council member told protesters Thursday night that the curfew might be lifted Friday if police don't have to remove people from the streets again.
The curfew and the national notoriety have been bad for business, said Jim Nye, owner of Hoppin' Johnz, a downtown restaurant.
"It's a stake in our heart as far as business goes," Nye said, noting that his sales are down by about half in the past week. "There's probably a couple hundred million people in the country who have never heard of Elizabeth City, and now they have, and this is all they know."
The majority of Elizabeth City's 18,000 residents are Black.
Parker and Nye said they know the town will survive the current trial and continue to thrive.
"Maybe we have been hurt some, but we believe it's worth it to make sure justice is done," the mayor said. "That's just the attitude of the people here in this town."
"It's been an awful thing that's happened, but once it's dealt with, it's onward and upward," Nye said.
