Civil rights leaders want Pasquotank sheriff to resign in wake of Andrew Brown shooting
Civil rights leaders called Saturday for the resignation of Pasquotank County Sheriff Tommy Wooten four days after deputies from his office shot and killed Andrew Brown Jr. while serving warrants at Brown’s Elizabeth City home.
Keith Rivers, the president of the Pasquotank County Chapter of the NAACP, and others held a press conference Saturday afternoon at Mt. Lebanon AME Zion Church where they sharply criticized Wooten for not releasing body camera footage of the incident.
“The district attorney and the sheriff are elected and they have an obligation to us to let us see what is on those tapes,” Rivers said. “You have an obligation to this family. Let them know.”
Rivers was joined by the Rev. William Barber II, North Carolina NAACP President Rev. T. Anthony Spearman and Harry Daniels, an attorney for Brown’s family. In addition to demanding Wooten’s resignation, the group called for the release of body camera footage and the loosening of public records laws to make it easier to obtain such footage in the future.
In addition to being represented by Daniels, Brown’s family members are being represented by high-profile civil rights attorneys Benjamin Crump and Bakari Sellers. Crump has represented families in many high-profile killings by police, including those of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
“It is time for the release of this video so justice can be served, accountability can be had,” Daniels said, adding that he believes justice includes an arrest, a prosecution and a sentencing.
Khalil Ferebee, one of Brown’s sons, spoke briefly during Saturday’s press conference. Brown leaves behind a tight-knit family, Ferebee said, adding that his father will never have a chance to meet his newborn grandchild.
“That’s going to hurt me every day,” Ferebee said. “I just want justice.”
Sheriff’s department calls for more help
Pasquotank Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Daniel Fogg announced in a video posted to social media Saturday that he asked for an outside agency to investigate everyone involved in Brown’s shooting. Fogg said he and Wooten asked the N.C. Sheriff’s Association to appoint an outside sheriff’s office to conduct the investigation.
“This is in addition to the work of ... the district attorney to focus on the internal affairs review,” Fogg said. “We’ll see if any different actions need to be taken. “We will fully cooperate with the work of the outside investigator and hopefully begin that process immediately.”
Wooten stood next to Fogg in the social media video post. He announced in the video that he wants the body-worn camera footage captured by his deputies to be released as long as the SBI can confirm to him that it won’t undermine the agency’s investigation into Brown’s shooting.
“Once I get that confirmation, our county will file a motion in court, hopefully Monday, to have the footage released,” Wooten said, adding that District Attorney Andrew Womble may speak to the judge about his opinion on the video’s release.
Wooten reminded his constituents that only a judge has the legal authority to release the video.
Shortly after Wooten released his video, Attorney General Josh Stein said in a statement that his office has offered to assist Womble’s office.
“I believe the bodycam video should be made available to the family and released publicly without undue delay,” Stein wrote. “Transparency is critically important in situations like this.”
If the video is released and shows deputies firing on Brown unjustly, Barber said, protesters and civil rights leaders will continue to push for charges and other measures of justice.
“We’ve been here all our lives. We’ve been fighting all of our lives. This is the South, this is Eastern North Carolina,” Barber said.
He continued, “This is where the country was changed — in the South. And so we make a commitment. We are fully confident that we will not quit, and if that’s the case it will only intensify and embolden our nonviolent agitation until change comes.”
Mayor wants the video law changed
Elizabeth City’s mayor called Saturday for a change to the North Carolina law that limits the release of police body camera footage.
“Come on now, this doesn’t make sense,” Mayor Bettie Parker said during a Saturday morning press conference. “We have to wait forever to get the body cam — 24 hours or 48 hours is enough. So let’s just change this.”
Parker’s call came a day after the Elizabeth City Council voted to petition the sheriff’s office and district attorney to release the footage. North Carolina law was changed in 2016 to limit the release of police body camera footage.
Wooten has acknowledged the existence of video of the shooting, which happened while deputies were serving the warrants at Brown’s Perry Street home. Radio dispatch traffic reported Friday indicated that Brown was shot in the back.
“America, here is the issue: A warrant is not a license to kill,” Barber said. “Even if a suspect supposedly drives away. A warrant does not mean a person is guilty. A warrant is not permission to shoot someone.”
It does not matter, Barber added, if the officer who fired the fatal shots is white or Black or Hispanic. Any officer who abuses his powers must be held accountable, Barber said.
Seven Pasquotank County deputies have been put on administrative leave in connection with the shooting. Three others have retired or resigned, but a sheriff’s office spokesman told The Associated Press that those resignations were not connected with the shooting.
Under North Carolina law, family members of people who are killed by law enforcement can view body camera footage, but must petition a judge to obtain a copy, The News & Observer reported. Brown’s family has not had a chance to view footage of the shooting, Daniels said Saturday.
Law enforcement agencies can also ask a judge to release the footage, but cannot release the video without the judge’s approval. Members of the public — including the media — can also ask a judge to order the release of the footage.
Senate Bill 510 would loosen access
Barber called Saturday for the General Assembly to pass Senate Bill 510, a measure introduced by a trio of Senate Democrats that would strike much of the 2016 legislation, making most law enforcement recordings public records and requiring police agencies to convince a judge that restricting access to the recordings is warranted.
“There’s no reason that the General Assembly in this state can’t pass that bill and open up these body cameras for public record. There’s no reason,” Barber said. “The only reason would be they, too, don’t want to know the truth.”
The small city in the Northeastern corner of the state has been the site of protests each night since the shooting, which happened the day after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted in the May 2020 murder of George Floyd.
“It didn’t happen on our watch, but still we have to now police the protesters, even though they’re doing well,” Mayor Parker said. “But our police department now has been drawn into it.”
Speaking Saturday about Brown’s shooting, Montré Freeman, Elizabeth City’s city manager, said, “It felt like yet another one. That’s how it felt, that’s how it continues to feel, but I cannot allow myself to stay in that space.”
Freeman went on to say that he needs to focus on his duties, shepherding the city through as it finds itself in the unfamiliar spot of being on the national stage. Like other city leaders, Freeman emphasized that Elizabeth City officers were not involved in the search warrant or the shooting.
Freeman also emphasized that he has ordered the city’s officers to protect protesters.
“The lesson that I’ve learned is that the First Amendment is still powerful and it’s to be protected, and I’m going to do everything I can to continue to do that,” Freeman said. “And another thing is, I pray that this never happens again, ever, not in the city of Elizabeth City or any other city.”
Saturday afternoon, Gabriel Adkins, an Elizabeth City city councilman, led about 100 protesters to the Pasquotank County Sheriff’s Office headquarters.
Sheriff Wooten met with some pastors Friday evening at The Mount, an Elizabeth City church, and during that meeting, called for unity.
“Unity with who?” Adkins said to the protesters outside the sheriff’s office Saturday. “Unity for who? This family right here is who you need to be uniting with,” he continued, gesturing at members of Brown’s family who were present.
Adkins said protesters should surround the sheriff’s office headquarters Monday morning and demand answers.
Addressing Wooten, Adkins said, “Come stand on your ground and give the Brown family peace. Three officers resigned, seven officers on administrative leave. Why?”
This story was originally published April 24, 2021 at 1:24 PM with the headline "Civil rights leaders want Pasquotank sheriff to resign in wake of Andrew Brown shooting."