North Carolina DA: Andrew Brown Jr.'s death 'tragic' but 'justified'

North Carolina District Attorney Andrew Womble said at a press conference on Tuesday that the deputy-involved shooting of Andrew Brown Jr. "while tragic, was justified" – and no law enforcement officers will be criminally charged in the case. 

Womble, the elected district attorney for Judicial District 1, which covers seven counties of the northeastern part of the state, said that Brown was shot at by three Pasquotank deputies, whose actions were "justified because Brown’s actions caused deputies to reasonably believe it necessary to use force to protect themselves and others." 

Womble began playing four body camera videos during the press conference, which was broadcast by several news outlets.  

DA ARGUES THAT ANDREW BROWN JR.'S CAR STRUCK DEPUTIES TWICE, FAMILY LAWYER GAVE ‘PATENTLY FALSE’ BODYCAM REMARKS

Brown ignored deputies' commands to stop and began to drive his car directly at one of the officers, Womble said. He said the first shot fired at Brown’s car went through the front windshield, not the back as was previously reported.

Womble said that Brown used his vehicle to commit assault with a deadly weapon. 

Deputies attempting to serve drug-related search and arrest warrants shot and killed Brown outside his Elizabeth City home on April 21.

During his press conference, Womble said a deputy who tried to open Brown's car door wound up partly on the hood as Brown backed up, and the deputy found himself directly in the car's path moments later when Brown drove forward. Womble said the deputy had to push off the car with his hand to narrowly avoid being run over, and Brown's vehicle made contact with a second law enforcement officer. 

"I find that the facts of this case clearly illustrate the officers who used deadly force on Andrew Brown Jr. did so reasonably and only when a violent felon used a deadly weapon to put their lives in danger," Womble said, referring to Brown's car. He added that he found that "Brown's actions and conduct were indeed dangerous by the time of the shooting… Brown posed an immediate threat to the safety of the officers and others."

The first shot entered the front windshield of Brown’s car, which continued forward past deputies and several shots are heard, Womble said. One shot entered the passenger window, striking Brown in shoulder, and several more entered the rear passenger side door and window. 

As Brown’s vehicle accelerated across a vacant lot across from his house at 421 Perry Street, five shots entered the rear windshield and trunk. At that time, Brown was driving directly at an investigator sitting in an unmarked van. The investigator accelerated, narrowly avoiding being struck by Brown, whose vehicle then hit a tree. Brown was removed from the driver’s seat and deputies began life saving efforts, Womble said.

Law enforcement involvement with Brown began in the weeks prior to the shooting. Detective R.D. Johnson, of the Dare County Sheriff’s Office, received information from a reliable confidential source that Brown, from Elizabeth City, was selling drugs in Dare County. Johnson contacted Pasquotank County and confirmed Brown’s identity and that he is a known drug dealer, Womble said. 

The informant made two undercover buys from Brown on March 17 and March 29 of cocaine and heroin. Lab analysis determined the heroin was laced fentanyl, Womble said. Det. Daniel Meads, of the Pasquotank County Sheriff’s Office, applied for and obtained a search warrant for Brown’s residence and vehicle in Elizabeth City. Two additional arrest warrants were obtained for the sale of controlled substances in Dare County. 

On the morning of April 21, sheriff’s deputies were briefed on Brown and his past involvement with law enforcement, including multiple resisting arrest charges and convictions dating back to 1995, Womble said. Brown also had assault, assault with a deadly weapon and assault conflicting serious injury convictions dating back to 1995. Brown had also barricaded doorways during previous home search warrants, Womble said. 

No children were believed to be at the location and the mother of Brown’s minor children was seldom at his residence, the district attorney added. 

An independent autopsy released by the family found that Brown was hit by bullets five times, including once in the back of the head. Lawyers for Brown's family who watched body camera footage say that it shows Brown was not armed and that he didn't drive toward deputies or pose a threat to them. Womble has previously disagreed in court, saying that Brown struck deputies twice with his car before any shots were fired.

The three deputies involved in the shooting — Investigator Daniel Meads, Deputy Robert Morgan and Cpl. Aaron Lewellyn — have been on leave since it happened. The sheriff’s office said Morgan is Black, while Meads and Lewellyn are White. Four other deputies who were at the scene were reinstated after the sheriff said they didn't fire their weapons.

The shooting sparked protests over multiple weeks by demonstrators calling for the public release of body camera footage. While authorities have shown footage to Brown's family, a judge delayed the public release of the video to allow for the probe by North Carolina's State Bureau of Investigation to move forward.  Separately, the FBI has launched a civil rights probe of the shooting.

In response to Womble’s decision not to charge the officers, North Carolina’s State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) said in a statement Tuesday that, as an impartial fact-finder, it is not in a place to agree or disagree with any prosecutor’s decision regarding an investigation. 

Its role is to investigate the facts surrounding the incident and to then provide those facts to the prosecutor – not to make any determinations as to whether criminal charges should be filed or determine if a person’s actions are justified or not, the statement said. 

During the course if its investigation, the SBI "interviewed numerous witnesses, conducted crime scene analysis, collected and reviewed video footage, and engaged in other investigative activities in an attempt to conduct as thorough and complete an investigation as possible in a timely manner." 

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Even now that the district attorney made a decision not to charge the officers, the SBI file "is still not considered a public record under NCGS 132-1.4 and may only be released pursuant to a court order." SBI will not be releasing any written reports regarding the investigation and any decisions regarding the release of video footage will continue to be made by the court in accordance with NCGS 132-1.4A. 

"As stated earlier, the NC SBI supports transparency to the greatest extent possible allowed by the law, as we think this serves the interests of the citizens of North Carolina," the statement said.

Attorneys for the Brown family accused Womble of trying to "whitewash this unjustified killing."  

"To say this shooting was justified, despite the known facts, is both an insult and a slap in the face to Andrew’s family, the Elizabeth City community, and to rational people everywhere," said attorneys Ben Crump, Bakari Sellers, Harry Daniels, and Chantel Cherry-Lassiter. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.