Andrew Brown Jr. Killing Called 'Justified,' Causing More Uproar Over Incident
Things took a turn in the Andrew Brown Jr. investigation on Tuesday after North Carolina District Attorney Andrew Womble stated that the deadly force used in the case was “justified.”
Brown was shot and killed on April 21 by Pasquotank Country sheriff’s deputies after they attempted to serve him with two felony warrants, along with a search warrant for an investigation probe.
"Mr. Brown's death, while tragic, was justified because Mr. Brown's actions caused three deputies to reasonably believe it was necessary to use deadly force to protect themselves and others," Womble said, per CNN.
The deputies claimed that the 42-year-old “recklessly” drove at the officers after surrounding the vehicle he was in. One video of the altercation concludes that Brown reversed his car into a corner, which pulled a deputy off his feet, and then accelerated, causing him to jump out of the way from being hit.
With the announcement of this news, many shared their questions, concerns and disagreements regarding the justification.
Brown was shot twice, once in the back of the head and once in the shoulder while driving away in his vehicle.
The bodycam footage of the vehicle's movements in relation to the officers and their safety has been in question for weeks after Brown’s family’s attorneys stated there was no threat to the officers after viewing more footage from the body and the dash camera's videos.
"At no point did we ever see Mr. Brown make contact with law enforcement," Lynch told reporters. "We were able to see where they possibly reached out to make contact to him, but we did not see any actions on Mr. Brown's part where he made contact with them or try to go in their direction. In fact, he did just the opposite."
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