The city of Elizabeth City , in North Carolina , declared a state of emergency on Monday due to the possibility of riots when the video of the death of African – American Andrew Brown by police shots was made public last week .
The mayor of this town of just over 17,000 inhabitants, Bettie Parker, explained in a statement that Elizabeth City officials anticipate “a period of civil unrest within the city after the publication of those images.”
Authorities did not provide details of the shooting, but a witness said Brown was shot several times while trying to get away from the officers, according to local media. The policemen were going to arrest him by court order when this incident occurred.
Police announced Monday the closure of the streets around the county court. The disclosure of the images is expected to take place after the relatives of the deceased see them.
One of Brown’s family’s lawyers , Ben Crump, lamented at a press conference that “the most dangerous person for a white police officer is an African-American man on the run.”
“We are going to destroy this (police) system and we are going to reinvent what it should be,” Crump said.
This situation comes a week after a Minneapolis court jury issued its ruling against former agent Derek Chauvin , whom it found guilty of three counts for the murder of African American 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 African-Americans have also died from the shooting of police officers: Daunte Wright , 20, in Brooklyn Center (Minnesota); Ma’Khia Bryant , 16, in Ohio; and Adam Toledo, 13, in Chicago .