HUGE uproar broke out as protesters demanded cops release the video of Andrew Brown Jr being shot by officers.
Demonstrations took place just hours after Brown's family and legal team viewed 20 seconds worth of bodycam footage showing the death of the 42-year-old.
- Read our Andrew Brown Jr. live blog for the latest updates
After seeing the allegedly shortened version, Attorney Ben Crump said: "We do not feel that we got transparency, we only saw a snippet of the video where we know that the video started before and after what they showed the family.
"They determined what was perfect – why couldn't the family see all of the video they only showed one body cam video even though we know there were several bodycam videos," he fumed.
When asked how many shots were fired, one of the family's legal team said "we lost count in 20 seconds how many shots."
They also claimed that cops were "shooting and saying let me see your hands at the same time and he's complying," adding that they could see his hands on the steering wheel of the vehicle.
The dad-of-ten was fatally shot during a drug-related warrant executed by the sheriff’s deputies last week.
Brown was confronted by a Pasquotank County Sheriff's Office deputy attempting to serve him a warrant at around 8.30am on Wednesday.
The deputy fired a gun while Brown was allegedly driving away from his Elizabeth City, North Carolina home.
Witnesses at the time reported hearing six to eight shots ring out when the deputy pulled the fateful trigger.
Since the April 21 shooting, authorities have provided limited information regarding the circumstances under which Brown was killed.
Protests demanding transparency have ensued in Elizabeth City, where the shooting occurred.
On Monday evening, protesters marched throughout the city chanting: "Release the tape! The real tape!"
Some demonstrators even went to the home of Pasquotank County Attorney R. Michael Cox calling for him to resign, according to one reporter.
The protests came to an end just before 11pm local time, but are expected to continue tonight.
Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools are operating on a full remote schedule for all students and staff throughout the week, "due to the continuously evolving state of civil unrest in our local community and under the advisement [sic] of our local law enforcement partners."
The city itself declared a state of emergency ahead of the release of the bodycam footage. A date for it's release has not yet been confirmed.
Sheriff Tommy Wooten told a press conference that the County Attorney has now filed a motion to a court to release the full bodycam footage to the public domain.
"This tragic incident was quick and over in less than 30 seconds," he said.
However, Wooten stressed: "Body cameras are shaky, and sometimes hard to decipher, they only tell part of the story."
Source: Read Full Article