ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. — The family attorneys of Andrew Brown Jr. have released a statement in response to autopsy results.
Civil Rights attorney Ben Crump, Bakari Sellers, Harry Daniels, and Chantel Cherry-Lassiter released the following statement in response to the release of autopsy findings in the police killing of Andrew Brown Jr.:
“The autopsy results prove what we’ve always known to be true: Pasquotank County deputies executed Andrew Brown Jr. with a kill shot to the back of the head. The false narrative that DA Womble has attempted to weave is completely discredited by this autopsy report. While we are not surprised by the findings, we are both astounded and disgusted that the authorities in this case didn’t even have the decency to share these results with the family – we were alerted of their release by the media. Every single opportunity DA Womble has had to do the right thing, he’s taken the route of cowardice and deceit. Shame on him. Despite law enforcement’s and the district attorney’s best efforts to hide the facts in this case, and paint Andrew as a villain, we are confident that the truth will be revealed and justice will prevail. We will continue to demand release of video footage from the day Andrew was killed, and we won’t stop fighting for transparency and accountability from law enforcement and the district attorney. From what we’ve seen thus far from both parties, we have a long way to go.”
Scripps station WTKR received a copy of the autopsy results Thursday afternoon, which confirmed that Brown's cause of death was due to a penetrating gunshot wound to the head.
The medical examiner officially ruled his death as a homicide.
Brown Jr. was also shot in the right arm.
The autopsy results showed he had "a low level of methamphetamine" in his bloodstream.
But the report said that since the level of methamphetamine was low, it "likely did not play a role in Mr. Brown’s cause or manner of death."
The morning of April 21, when Brown was killed, deputies were serving a warrant on felony drug charges.
Since the incident, District Attorney Andrew Womble said that Brown’s death was justified after reviewing the investigation.
Womble said Brown’s actions made it reasonable for deputies to use deadly force.
Brown's family and family attorneys have said he was executed with a shot to the head. His death also sparked continuous protests in Elizabeth City, demanding transparency.
