Posted: Apr 21, 2021 / 10:54 AM EDT / Updated: Apr 21, 2021 / 01:42 PM EDT
ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. (WAVY) — A man was fatally shot Wednesday morning by a sheriff’s deputy in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.
There are few details at this time, but the Pasquotank County Sheriff’s Office says the shooting happened around 8:30 a.m. while deputies served a search warrant in the 400 block of Perry Street, off Roanoke Avenue.
We’re told the man was shot in his car. @WAVY_News pic.twitter.com/CmeNiYVKFh
- Jason Marks (@jasonmarkswavy) April 21, 2021
The man, who family members identified as 40-year-old Andrew Brown, got into his car and started to drive away, witnesses say. That’s when shots were fired by the deputy. Neighbors say they heard anywhere from 6 to 8 shots.
His family says Brown did not carry a gun and didn’t hurt anyone. He was the father of 10 children.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation has been called in to take over the investigation.
Pasquotank Sheriff Tommy Wooten II is expected to hold a press conference on the incident later today. In the meantime, a crowd has gathered in the area to mourn Brown, protest the shooting and document the scene.
WAVY’s Jason Marks is there and says police have formed a line blocking the area where Brown was killed. His body was placed under a blue tent, and it was still there as of 12:30 p.m., hours after the shooting.
There will also be an emergency Elizabeth City council meeting tonight at 6. WAVY spoke with District Attorney Andrew Womble, who says he is calling for a thorough investigation by the State Bureau of Investigation.
In September, the Pasquotank Board of Commissioners approved the purchase of the county’s first 33 body-worn cameras for deputies. It’s unclear if deputies have been issued the cameras yet.
“If the body cameras were on that information needs to be disseminated as quickly as possible in order to make sure justice is served,” said Keith Rivers, the president of the Pasquotank NAACP.
Rivers emphasized how the situation in tense and says law enforcement after the shooting acted like they were in “riot mode.”
“The sheriff has not spoken to anyone out here … this is not the Elizabeth City Police Department, this is the Pasquotank County Sheriff’s Department,” Rivers said. “The sheriff needs to address these people. The sheriff needs to talk to community leaders to let us know what is going on so that we can be a part of this process.”
Things are very tense here in Elizabeth City. Lots of emotions. Deputies were serving a search warrant. @WAVY_News pic.twitter.com/JITfoWYuT7
- Jason Marks (@jasonmarkswavy) April 21, 2021
“In September, the Pasquotank Board of Commissioners approved the purchase of the county’s first 33 body-worn cameras for deputies. It’s unclear if deputies have been issued the cameras yet.”
If they haven’t issued them, either the department is corrupt or they are fools. Cameras help indict the guilty and save the careers of honest officers as well as suppress rioting over poor media reporting.