The family of Andrew Brown Jr. will have to continue to wait to view the body camera footage of their loved one’s shooting death by police in Elizabeth City, North Carolina following a judge’s written order. Under this latest order, Brown’s family will also only be able to view less than 20 minutes out of the nearly two hours of body cam footage that authorities have.
“The portions of the videos withheld are found to not contain images of the deceased, and thus are not appropriate for disclosure at this time,” Judge Jefferey Foster wrote.
On April 27, Foster ruled that Brown’s family would be able to view the footage “within 10 days,” but the new order, written on Thursday (May 6) said the 10-day period would start from when this latest ruling was given.
Police fatally shot Brown and April 21, a day after police in Columbus, Ohio fatally shot 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant, and a jury convicted Derek Chauvin of George Floyd’s murder.
In the days following Brown’s death, members of his family and their legal team have called for the immediate release of the footage, accusing officials of attempting to cover up the incident.
“Show the tape,” attorney Harry Daniels said at an April 26 news conference, “If you ain’t got nothing to hide, show the tape.”
An independent autopsy report ordered by the family indicated Brown died from a gunshot to the back of the head.
Since the shooting, the family has only been able to see a 20-second snippet of body camera footage, and the judge denied public release of the video.
In court hearings about the release, District Attorney Andrew Womble and Brown family attorney Chantel Cherry-Lassiter disputed what was on the footage. Womble argued that Brown backed his car into officers while Cherry-Lassiter maintained that Brown didn’t make contact with officers with his vehicle and was attempting to get away.
A funeral service was held for Brown earlier this week, in which Rev. Al Sharpton delivered a eulogy calling for justice.
Photo: Getty Images