Federal Probe Into Andrew Brown Shooting Should Continue: Cooper

NORTH CAROLINA — The federal investigation into the police shooting of Andrew Brown, Jr. should continue, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said Wednesday.

Cooper's comments come one day after Pasquotank County District Attorney Andrew Womble said the shooting of the unarmed Black Elizabeth City man was justified and that no officers would be criminally charged. Brown, 42, was killed by a gunshot to the back of his head from Pasquotank County Sheriff's Office deputies as they attempted to serve an arrest and search warrant on drug charges.

The FBI Charlotte field office announced late last month that it is opening a federal civil rights investigation into the case.

"I think the public would have been better served with a special prosecutor, more transparency and quickly releasing the incident footage to the public," Gov. Roy Cooper said Wednesday afternoon during a news conference.

"The federal investigation should continue," he said.

Cooper's comments mirror those he made on social media following the district attorney's announcement that he determined the shooting was justified and that he would not be charging the officers involved.

"Our state should pass specific laws to increase transparency, confidence and accountability in the justice system," Cooper said Tuesday.

SEE ALSO: Andrew Brown, Jr.'s Death 'Justified' In Officer Shooting: DA

Wednesday afternoon, Pasquotank County Sheriff Tommy Wooten, who has said the deputies involved in the shooting did not violate the Sheriff department's use-of-force policy, called Womble's decision to not charge them a "relief," WAVY reported.

“My initial reaction was relief and relief in the situation,” Wooten told the station. "You know I agree with the decision wholeheartedly as it pertains to the law, and just to have that conclusion, you know we got to this point, let’s now start moving forward.”

Attorneys for Brown's family said Tuesday that Womble's refusal to bring charges was "an insult and a slap in the face," and called for federal intervention.

According to early eyewitness accounts, Brown was shot while trying to get away from officers — an allegation that sparked weeks of protests in Elizabeth City as well as demands for transparency. Details of the moments that led to the shooting remain under shroud, however, after a North Carolina Superior Court judge denied a request to publically release officer body camera footage of the fatal shooting. Brown's family was shown a heavily redacted 20-second clip of the incident.

Sheriff Wooten agrees that the footage should be made public, and Tuesday filed a petition seeking to do just that with the North Carolina Superior Court, WAVY reported.

In a more-than-hour-long news conference Tuesday, District Attorney Womble justified his decision to not press charges against officers, presenting a chronological assessment of the events that unfolded along side clips of body camera footage and still images pulled from the video.

The narrative disputed earlier public statements and characterizations of the footage made by attorneys representing Brown's family after they were shown a small snippet of video.

"The facts of this case clearly illustrate that officers who used deadly force on Andrew Brown, Jr., did so reasonably and only when a violent felon used a deadly weapon to place their lives in danger," Womble said. "The law enforcement officers were duty-bound to stand their ground and carry through with their performance of their duties and take Andrew Brown into custody. They could not simply let him go as has been suggested."

Attorneys for the Brown family fired back following Womble's news conference, calling for the DOJ to intervene immediately.

"Andrew Brown Jr., his grieving family, and this community deserve answers," the attorneys said in a statement. "And they received anything but that from D.A. Womble's attempt 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."

SEE ALSO:

• Autopsy Shows Andrew Brown Shot 5 Times, Including Back Of Head
• Andrew Brown Laid To Rest As Demands For Police Video Continue
• Calls Mount For Body Cam Footage In Andrew Brown Jr. Shooting
• Andrew Brown Shooting: NC Governor Calls For A Special Prosecutor
• Judge Rules On Release Of Police Videos Of Andrew Brown Shooting
• FBI Launches Civil Rights Probe Into Andrew Brown's Death