ELIZABETH CITY, North Carolina – A North Carolina police officer shot and killed a black man while serving an arrest warrant, authorities said, in an incident that sparked an outcry from community members, who demanded that police be held accountable and immediately broadcast images taken with the body-worn video camera.
Authorities did not give details of what happened, but a witness said Andrew Brown Jr. was shot Wednesday while driving away and officers shot him multiple times. The car skidded across the front lawn of Brown’s home and ended up crashing into a tree, said Demetria Williams, who lives on the same street.
Williams added that he left his house after hearing a shot and that he observed when other shots were fired at the vehicle.
“When they opened the door he was already dead,” Williams said. “He was collapsed,” said the woman. He said the police tried to revive him by performing a chest compression.
A car that authorities removed from the scene appeared to have multiple bullet holes and a broken windshield.
Pasquotank County Sheriff’s Office was put on leave while the State Bureau of Investigation hears the case, Police Chief Tommy Wooten II told a news conference. Court records show Brown was 42 years old with a record of drug charges and a misdemeanor drug possession conviction.
Former police officer Derek Chauvin could only be sentenced to a maximum of 12 years in prison for each of the two main charges, and four years for the third charge.
PROTESTS IN NORTH CAROLINA OVER THE DEATH OF ANDREW BROWN JR.
Dozens of people gathered at the scene of the incident in Elizabeth City, a district of about 18,000 people located about 170 miles northeast of Raleigh, where they voiced their anger and protested in the company of Brown’s relatives.
A crowd later demonstrated outside City Hall when the City Council was holding an emergency meeting, with some people holding signs proclaiming “Black Lives Matter” and “Stop Killing Unarmed Black Men.”
As night came on Wednesday, a group gathered in the parking lot of the police headquarters and a crowd that grew to more than 200 blocked the main avenue of the city.