FBI opens federal civil rights investigation into police shooting of Andrew Brown Jr. after autopsy shows he was shot in the back of the head and his family call his death 'a modern-day lynching'
The FBI has announced a federal civil rights investigation into the police shooting of Andrew Brown Jr. after an independent autopsy showed he was shot in the back of the head.
Brown, 42, was killed by police in North Carolina at 8.30am on April 21 while at the wheel of his car in his driveway. Police are yet to release bodycam footage of the incident; his family have called it an execution.
The bureau's Charlotte field office on Tuesday said its agents planned to work closely with the Department of Justice 'to determine whether federal laws were violated,' the agency said.
Following the news, lawyers for the Brown family said they have 'great faith' in the investigation.
They also called new footage taken by a neighbor of the moment a large group of cops surrounded Brown Jr.'s car 'an inflamed modern-day lynch mob'.
It comes amid increasing calls for the release of the full body camera footage, including formal requests to make the video public that will be considered by a judge on Wednesday. Brown's family have been allowed to watch just 20 seconds from the view of one officer.
The autopsy performed Sunday by a pathologist hired by Brown's family noted four wounds to the right arm and one to the head. The state's autopsy has not been released yet.
The family's lawyers also released a copy of the death certificate, which lists the cause of death as a 'penetrating gunshot wound of the head.' The certificate, signed by a paramedic services instructor who serves as a local medical examiner, describes the death as a homicide.
Police said they were carrying out an arrest warrant for drugs offenses and claim Brown was a drug dealer with a rap sheet dating back to 1988. Brown had a 180 page criminal record and had been filmed selling narcotics in the weeks leading up to his death, Fox News reported Monday.
One eyewitness said: 'They crowded around his car, they were shooting the front window of his car.'
The FBI has announced a federal civil rights investigation into the police shooting of Andrew Brown Jr., pictured, after an independent autopsy showed he was shot in the back of the head
Following the news, lawyers for the Brown family said they have 'great faith' in the investigation. They also called new footage of the moment a large group of cops surrounded Brown Jr.'s car 'an inflamed modern-day lynch mob'. Benjamin Crump, one of the lawyers representing the family, points to an autopsy chart that his team conducted showing where Mr. Brown was shot
New footage has emerged of the moment a large group of cops surrounded Andrew Brown's car after his son called the North Carolina police shooting 'an execution'. The clip - taken by a neighbor in the moments after officers opened fire and obtained by CNN - shows after Brown's car had crashed into a tree
Witnesses said Brown got into his car (pictured) and was driving away when the deputy opened fire. Lawyers for the Brown family said called new footage showing cops surround Brown Jr.'s car 'an inflamed modern-day lynch mob'
Responding to the news of the FBI's federal investigation the family's attorneys, Ben Crump, Bakari Sellers, Harry Daniels, and Chantel Cherry-Lassiter, said: ' We have great faith that this caliber of an investigation will prevent any obscuring of the facts released to the Brown family and public, and will overcome any local bias that may prevent justice from being served.'
A clip - taken by a neighbor in the moments after officers opened fire and obtained by CNN - shows that in the seconds after Brown's car had crashed into a tree he was surrounded by a group of cops.
The attorneys added: 'The video leaked earlier today shows what we already suspected: Andrew Brown Jr. was brought down by an inflamed modern-day lynch mob.
'The footage shows an eerie resemblance to what we saw in Ahmaud Arbery's modern-day lynching, except these were no vigilantes – these murderers were on the clock as law enforcement.
'We believe that once the long-awaited body camera footage is released, we will be able to fill in the gaps to this story and hold the officers responsible for Andrew Brown's death accountable.
'The longer law enforcement waits to release the body camera footage to the Brown family and the public, the more our suspicions are raised. This leaked footage hints as to why.'
Brown's son Khalil Ferebee had earlier questioned why deputies had to shoot so many times at a man who, he said, posed no threat.
'Yesterday I said he was executed. This autopsy report shows me that was correct,' he said at the news conference. 'It's obvious he was trying to get away. It's obvious. And they're going to shoot him in the back of the head?'
Brown's family say he had complied with police and had his hands on his steering wheel as they shot in the arm. They say he then drove away in an attempt to save his life when he was shot in the back of the head.
That came after they were finally allowed to see police body cam from the incident Monday. The footage has not been released publicly and just 20 seconds was shown to the victim's loved ones and attorneys.
Family lawyer, Chantel Cherry-Lassiter, who viewed the video, said Monday that officers opened fire on Brown while he had his hands on the steering wheel of a car. She said the video showed Brown trying to drive away but posing no threat to officers.
The pathologist, North Carolina-based Dr. Brent Hall, noted a wound to the back of Brown's head from an undetermined distance that penetrated his skull and brain. He said there was no exit wound.
'It was a kill shot to the back of the head,' family attorney Ben Crump said.
The results of an independent autopsy released by attorneys for Brown's family Tuesday shows he was shot five times; four times in his right arm and once in the head
Brown's son Khalil told CBS: 'It was just a horrific scene, a horrific video. They were shooting from the very start of the video. My dad, his hands were on the steering wheel and they were still shooting. I still don't have closure...the answers.' In a separate interview with GMA he called the shooting an 'execution'
Brown's son Khalil told earlier told CBS: 'It was just a horrific scene, a horrific video. They were shooting from the very start of the video. My dad, his hands were on the steering wheel and they were still shooting. I still don't have closure...the answers.' In a separate interview with GMA he called the shooting an 'execution'.
Civil rights attorney Crump said: 'If they thought Andrew Brown Jr did something inappropriately and criminal you all would have seen that video by now. There was no need for them to be the judge, the jury and the executioner.'
Protesters took to the streets of Elizabeth City on Monday night for the fifth night in a row as anger mounted at the failure to release the full footage showing the killing of Brown.
Authorities said the father-of-ten had a 180 page criminal record and had been filmed selling narcotics in the weeks leading up to his death last Wednesday, Fox News reported.
The deputies continued to shoot after Brown drove his vehicle away from them, according to Chantel Cherry-Lassiter, who said he never presented a threat to the team of officers at the scene.
On Monday night more than 200 people marched through downtown to 'disrupt commerce' as a state of emergency was declared, carrying signs and shouting: 'Release the tape! The real tape!'
Some reports suggested rocks were thrown, Fox News said, while others said it was eggs that were hurled.
Twice, The Raleigh News & Observer reported, they stopped to confront police officers who blocked traffic for them to pass, yelling: 'Say his name! Say his name!' before moving on.
Under North Carolina law, body camera footage can only be released with a court order, but critics are accusing the authorities of a cover up - suspicions that increased after the family were allowed to watch just 20 seconds of a redacted video of the fatal shooting.
Khalil Ferebee, the son of Andrew Brown Jr., is hugged after speaking during a press conference about the killing of his father
Khalil Ferebee, the son of Black suspect Andrew Brown Jr. who was killed by sheriffs last week, reacts after speaking at a press conference announcing findings from an independent autopsy in Elizabeth City
Demonstrators gathered for a fifth night of protests in Elizabeth City on Monday night calling for answers over the shooting of the 42-year-old
Protesters occupy an intersection while marching in the evening after family members were shown body camera footage of the shooting
Activists were on the streets of Elizabeth City for the fifth night in a row on Monday
A driver wearing a Black Lives Matter t-shirt steps out of her car to join other protesters in raising a fist in solidarity with each other
Protesters were demanding police to 'release the video' to 'show us the truth' as they marched on the county sheriff's building
Crump, the high-profile civil rights attorney who now represents the family, said outside the Pasquotank County Sheriff's Office Monday: 'They are trying to hide something. They don't want us to see.'
Attorneys for the family said 20 second clip they were shown began as shots were already being fired, adding that Brown complied with officer commands throughout.
After watching the footage, Brown's son Khalil told reporters: 'My dad got executed just trying to save his life. It is messed up how this happened. He got executed.'
Andrew Brown, 42, was shot and killed by sheriffs in North Carolina on Wednesday morning
Court documents released on Monday show deputies obtained the search warrant that brought them to Brown after investigators recorded him selling small amounts of cocaine and methamphetamine to an informant.
The city's mayor earlier had declared a state of emergency over the shooting.
County officials indicated that showing family the clip had been delayed because they were working on blurring some faces in the recording.
Describing the footage in more detail on Monday afternoon, attorney Chantel Cherry-Lassiter said Brown had been in his driveway when he was blocked in by officers who were in a marked police vehicle.
She said they 'lost count' on how many shots were fired. She also said deputies 'rode up to his car while shooting'.
When Brown 'finally tries to get away to get out of danger' he backs out, away from officers who were allegedly shouting obscenities at him.
The attorney added: 'At no time was he threatening officers.'
When his car runs into a tree, Cherry-Lassiter said the officers continued shooting at him, leaving his vehicle 'riddled with bullets'.
The family noted that despite multiple officers being at the scene they were allowed to see just one clip - from an officer who was farthest from the scene.
Gunfire already had started in the clip they were shown, they said, and it was unclear what had happened in the moments before the shooting.
Cherry-Lassiter, who watched the video multiple times and took notes, said some deputies were wearing tactical uniforms and some in plainclothes.
Andrew Brown, pictured, a 42-year-old father of 10, was shot in his car on April 21 by sheriffs
'They're shooting and saying let me see your hands at the same time,' she said.
Crump confirmed that he would hold a press conference on Tuesday at 11am to discuss autopsy results.
'It's clear to us there is something bad on that bodycam video,' he said.
'Transparency is essential.'
Crump had said Monday: 'Now, you all may have noticed that they released a warrant saying all kinds of things about Andrew Brown, but they want to redact the face of the ... officers that killed Andrew Brown.'
He added that law officials blurring deputies' faces are 'going to protect them and not show their face and not say their names ... because what they want to do is assassinate the character' of Brown.
Pasquotank County Sheriff Tommy Wooten II has said that multiple deputies fired shots. Elizabeth City police were not involved in the shooting.
Wooten has said 'only a judge can release the video', adding: 'That's why I've asked the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation to confirm for me that the releasing of the video will not undermine their investigation.'
He said he hopes to file a motion for its release Monday.
Brown's death spurred an outcry from community members who demanded law enforcement accountability and the immediate release of deputies' body camera footage.
Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools said they are operating remotely until at least Friday 'due to the continuously evolving state of civil unrest'.
Chief Deputy Daniel Fogg (left) and Sheriff Tommy S. Wooten issued a video on Monday night
Protestors block an intersection after an emergency city council meeting on Friday evening
The arrest warrant released on Monday was obtained by the Pasquotank County sheriff's office and signed by a local judge, to allow the search of Brown's Elizabeth City home.
It said that an investigator in nearby Dare County was told by the informant that the person had been purchasing crack cocaine and other drugs for over a year from Brown.
The informant described purchasing drugs at the house that was the target of the search.
The warrant said that, in March, local narcotics officers used the informant to conduct controlled purchases of methamphetamine and cocaine from Brown on two separate occasions.
It says both drug transactions were recorded using audio and video equipment. The search warrant said investigators believed Brown was storing drugs in the home or two vehicles.
The document, which indicated the search wasn't completed, did not list anything found.
The arrest warrants, which were released last week, charged him with possession with intent to sell and deliver three grams of each of the drugs.
On Friday, the state's governor, Roy Cooper, a Democrat, issued a statement calling for the swift release of the footage.
Neighbor Demetria Williams, who witnessed part of the shooting, said she never saw Brown carry a gun, and that deputies fired into his car as he was trying to get away from them.
He crashed his car moments later, with Williams saying she saw Brown 'slumped' in his vehicle as he died of his gunshot wounds.
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