Andrew Brown shooting: 3 deputies resign, 7 on leave as calls grow for body camera footage

Three deputies have resigned from the Pasquotank County Sheriff's Office and seven are on leave after the fatal shooting this week of Andrew Brown Jr.

Radio traffic from Broadcastify.com indicates that Brown was shot in the back Wednesday as deputies tried to serve him drug-related search and arrest warrants.

Black man Andrew Brown shot and killed by Pasquotank deputies

In the recorded radio traffic, officers can be heard saying, "We have shots fired. 421 Perry Street. EMS and Fire en route ... Law enforcement on scene advising shots fired and need EMS. We've got one male, 42 years of age ... gunshot to the back ... We do have a viable pulse at this time."

According to the recording, responders began CPR on Brown after the shooting.

“Our deputies attempted to serve the arrest warrant. They fired the shots. They’ve been put on administrative leave until we know all the facts," Sheriff Tommy Wooten said in a pre-recorded statement posted to Facebook on Thursday.

Chief Deputy Daniel Fogg added, “This was an arrest warrant around a felony drug charge. Mr. Brown was a convicted felon with a history of resisting arrest. Our training and our policy indicate [that], under such circumstances, there is a high risk of danger.”​

Harry Daniels, an attorney for Brown's family, told WRAL News that deputies from both Pasquotank and Dare counties were on the scene to serve the warrants.

In the days since Brown's shooting, family, friends and supporters have marched, rallied and blocked streets in Elizabeth City to demand the release of body camera video from the incident and to ask questions of Wooten.

Calls grow for release of body camera footage of shooting of Andrew Brown Jr.

"If he won't come to us, then we'll go to him," said march organizer Kirk Rivers of Wooten. "But we're going to give him the opportunity to come to us and talk to us on our terms."

At an emergency City Council meeting Friday, members voted unanimously to support the release of body camera footage. A media coalition, including WRAL News, has filed an official request for the body camera video to be released.

Daniels said he expected family members would have the opportunity to view the video before it is released to the public.

"We demand those in office do the right thing by the Brown family so that they could sleep at night," said Elizabeth City Councilman Darius Horton. "If there's nothing to hide, what's wrong with releasing the video? And even if they couldn't have released it, couldn't the sheriff have described what was in the video?

"Justice looks like answers to the unanswered questions of the family and to hold those accountable if this was an unjustified shooting. That's what justice is," Horton said.

Wooten said the deputies involved had been put on administrative leave while the State Bureau of Investigation looks into the shooting, a standard practice whenever a law enforcement officer fires a weapon. He has promised a thorough and transparent investigation, but by Friday afternoon, he had yet to answer the family's questions to their satisfaction.

On Saturday morning, Bettie Parker, the mayor of Elizabeth City, held a press conference in response to the shooting.

"There are two separate law enforcement agencies in our community. Some of you may not know this," she said. "The Elizabeth City Police Department, which is municipal, and the Pasquotank County Sheriff's Department, which is county."

She confirmed that none of the officers of the Elizabeth City Police Department were involved in the serving of the warrant, nor the following events.

She said on Monday officials plan to deliver a letter to the sheriff's office to request body cam footage be released. Parker said she has not seen the footage, which the city council will view before releasing to the public.

“This doesn’t make sense that we have to wait forever to get the body cam," Parker said when asked about the state's laws. "24 hours to 48 hours is enough. So let’s just change it as quickly as possible and the root of it all is that we have to change the law.”

Gov. Roy Cooper tweeted about the footage on Friday, saying "the body camera footage should be made public as quickly as possible and the SBI should investigate thoroughly to ensure accountability."

Officials also said no protesters have been arrested as of Saturday morning.

Protests peaceful but pointed; family shares its pain

Brown's criminal record shows outstanding charges in Dare County of possession with intent to sell cocaine and possession with intent to sell a controlled substance.

Court records show Brown had a history of criminal charges stretching back into the 1990s, including a misdemeanor drug possession conviction and some pending felony drug charges.

His aunt, Martha McCullan, told reporters she is depending on God to get through what happened.

“I trust God, and I know we can do anything through Christ," she said.

"What hurts so bad is they [the sheriff's department] haven’t even reached out to his kids," she said. "They owe them something."

Cheryl Sanders-Seymore, whose 14-year-old nephew, El Tremaine Sanders, was killed by police in 1994, said she marched in solidarity with the Brown family.

"It's a personal experience for me," she said. "It's very important to me that we all stick together to seek justice and seek answers for this family."

McCullan also said she and other family members are desperate to see the body camera footage.