Deputies in Andrew Brown Jr. shooting to be disciplined but not fired, sheriff says

Officials in Pasquotank County, North Carolina, said Tuesday that three officers involved in the killing of Andrew Brown Jr., a Black man who died when he was shot by officers while trying to escape in a car, will be disciplined but remain with the county sheriff’s office.

Pasquotank County Sheriff Tommy Wooten told local NBC affiliate WITN 7 that the three officers would be disciplined and receive retraining on issues including the use of body cameras as well as when to have emergency medical services on standby.

“This was a terrible and tragic outcome and we could do better,” Wooten said, according to WITN 7.

An attorney for Brown’s family told CNN it was unclear “what the discipline is going to entail.”

His announcement comes after the Pasquotank County district attorney decided not to charge the officers, a move announced earlier Tuesday.

Investigators claimed that Brown’s shooting death was justified because he appeared to be attempting to use his vehicle as a deadly weapon against police.

“After reviewing the investigation conducted by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, Mr. Brown’s death, while tragic, was justified because Mr. Brown’s actions caused three deputies with the Pasquotank County Sheriff’s Office to reasonably believe it was necessary to use deadly force to protect themselves and others,” District Attorney Andrew Womble said Tuesday.

Family members said after witnessing footage of the incident that Brown’s death appeared to be an “execution.”

“What we saw on that video was an unjustified killing, what we saw on that video is something that we believe also denotes further investigation and does have some criminal liability,” family attorney Bakari Sellers said last week.