Bakari Sellers slams ‘disrespect’ from prosecutor in meeting

Civil rights attorney Bakari Sellers on Monday slammed the “disrespect” shown to the family of a man shot and killed by police in North Carolina, saying he had “never been talked to like I was talked to in there” by a local prosecutor. 

Sellers, who is also a political commentator on CNN, said Pasquotank County Attorney R. Michael Cox used profanity during a meeting with attorneys and family members of Andrew Brown Jr., a 42-year-old Black man who was fatally shot by police last week.

Sellers and other attorneys accused Cox of not allowing them to see body camera video of Brown’s killing. They also criticized Cox and police for showing only 20 seconds of the video.

But he was particularly critical of what he said was Cox’s disrespectful language and treatment of Sellers and Brown’s family.

“As we’re going through this process, we told the family that they would have their attorneys in there as some comfort,” Sellers said in remarks carried live on cable television. “We went back and forth, and I just wanted to say I’ve never been talked to like I was talked to in there.”

“I don’t know his name, but I went to the back, and — I know that we’re live on the news around the world, so I will say that Mr. Cox told me, a grown Black man, that he was not f—ing going to be bullied. And so I walked out,” he added.

As Sellers spoke, others could be heard identifying the person as Cox.

Sellers said a sheriff present was apologetic, but he added that he was “hot” because of the way Cox had treated him and the family.

Attorney Benjamin Crump voiced similar concerns, criticizing the “disrespect” shown to Brown’s family by authorities.

Crump criticized the police for releasing only 20 seconds of video as well, saying the family did not feel they “got transparency” because “we only saw a snippet of the video.”

“We know that the video started before and after what they showed the family, and they determined what was pertinent. Why couldn’t the family see all the video?” Crump said.

“They only showed one body cam video, even though we know there was several body cam videos if they were following the law and the policy in this county that everybody has video cameras on their uniforms,” he continued.

“To add insult to injury, they wanted to have just the two family members see the video with no legal counsel, as if they did not have a right to have their legal counsel present when they watch this execution of their loved one,” Crump said.

Crump continued, saying that they need to “keep demanding transparency because we do not feel what the county attorney offered was transparency at all.”

Brown was fatally shot by police on April 21, as deputies attempted to serve him an arrest warrant for felony drug charges. A car pulled away from the scene, and the deputies fired shots at the car.

Seven deputies have since been placed on administrative leave.

The shooting came just one day after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty on three charges in George Floyd’s death.