North Carolina – The city of Elizabeth City, North Carolina, declared a state of emergency on Monday due to the possibility of riots when the video of the death of a black man by police shooting is released. April 21.
The mayor of this town of just over 17,000, Bettie Parker, explained that Elizabeth City officials anticipate “a period of civil unrest within the city after the public release of those images” of Andrew Brown’s shooting death. Jr., 42.
Elizabeth City authorities did not provide details of the shooting, but a witness said Brown was shot multiple times while trying to get away from officers.
The policemen were going to arrest him by court order when this incident occurred.
The police of that city announced Monday the closing of the streets around the county court.
Although authorities have not given details on when the images will be released, it is expected that it will be after the relatives of the deceased see them.
One of Brown’s family lawyers, Ben Crump, lamented at a press conference that “the most dangerous person for a white police officer is a black man on the run.
“We are going to destroy this (police) system and we are going to reinvent what it should be,” Crump said.
THE PRECEDENT OF THE GEORGE FLOYD CASE
This situation comes less than a week after a Minneapolis court jury ruled against former police officer Derek Chauvin, who was found guilty of three counts in the murder of George Floyd in May 2020.
That incident, which was recorded by passersby, sparked a wave of social protests and civil unrest across the United States.
In recent weeks, several black people have also been shot dead by police officers: Daunte Wright, 20, in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota and Ma’Khia Bryant, 16, in Ohio.