Judge limits footage that family can see of deputy shooting
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — The family of a Black man who was fatally shot in his car by sheriff’s deputies in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, will only be shown a fraction of body camera footage recorded at the scene and could wait days longer to view it, under a judge’s written ruling.
Attorneys for Andrew Brown Jr.’ s family had expected to see the video as soon as this week after Judge Jeffery Foster ruled from the bench on April 27 that the family would be shown the videos “within 10 days.” The judge also said he would specify in a written order which portions they could view.
But it took the Superior Court judge until Thursday to issue the written ruling, which says the 10-day time period starts with the date of the order.
The ruling limits the family to viewing less than 20 minutes of the nearly two hours of video that was recorded before and after Brown was killed.
“The portions of the videos withheld are found to not contain images of the deceased, and thus are not appropriate for disclosure at this time,” Foster wrote.
Pasquotank County Manager Sparty Hammett told The Associated Press in an email that the county does not have a firm date for when it can show the video to Brown’s family. Brown family attorney Chantel Cherry- Lassiter confirmed that, telling the AP in an email that, to her knowledge, “no one has contacted the family regarding a definitive date and time.”
Brown’s shooting on April 21 has drawn national attention to the small, majority Black city in the state’s rural northeastern corner. And many city residents — as well as nationally prominent civil rights leaders and attorneys — are demanding full release of the footage over concerns that the shooting was unjustified and that Brown was “executed.”
A prosecutor has said that Brown’s car ran into the deputies before they opened fire.
Foster’s order contained a brief description of the footage. The judge wrote that Brown “attempted to flee the scene and escape apprehension” and that “at least one and as many as three officers fired their weapons into the vehicle operated by Brown.”
During the April 27 hearing on the matter, Foster said he would not publicly release the footage because it could jeopardize the ongoing investigation into Brown’s death or threaten the safety of people seen in the footage.
Foster said the video must remain out of public view for at least 30 days, but he would consider releasing it after that point if investigations are complete.