Elizabeth City councilman says footage shows deputy urinating outside Black funeral home

Josh Shaffer, Martha Quillin
·2 min read

An Elizabeth City councilman says he has captured footage of what he says is a deputy urinating on his funeral home property — an act he considers retaliation for his outspoken views about Andrew Brown Jr.’s shooting death last month.

Brown, 42, was shot and killed April 21 when Pasquotank County deputies arrived at his Elizabeth City home to serve search and arrest warrants based on a yearlong drug investigation. The state Bureau of Investigation is looking into the death, and three deputies are on leave.

Councilman Gabriel Adkins, who is Black, said a uniformed deputy or deputies came to his business on North Road Street on both Friday and Saturday nights, urinating at night while in sight of his surveillance camera.

Adkins posted the Saturday night video on his Facebook page. It appears to show a white officer in a tan uniform exiting a vehicle and urinating on a shed near the carport where Adkins parks his hearses.

“Since this case with Andrew Brown, I’ve been out protesting,” Adkins told The News & Observer on Monday. “I really feel like they are retaliating back against me. Maybe they didn’t know I had surveillance, but it’s a funeral home.”

Heather Carawan, spokeswoman for the sheriff’s department, was not immediately available Monday afternoon for questions about the video.

An autopsy commissioned by Brown’s family showed he died from a “kill shot” to the back of the head, said attorney Ben Crump. Family members and attorneys have since watched redacted portions of body-camera videos and said Brown was sitting in his car with his hands on the steering wheel, and that he did nothing to threaten deputies.

Hundreds have marched through the streets of Elizabeth City calling for the video’s full release and for an independent investigation not led by Pasquotank County District Attorney Andrew Womble. Those protests have been peaceful, and Adkins has led several of them.

Adkins said he is seeking legal advice and plans to press charges.

His funeral home sits about three miles outside the city limits. He said video from Friday is still being processed but the deputy on his property lingered for about five minutes that night.

“I’m just getting real worried I might be the next target, or they’re trying to set me up,” he said. “On top of it being a crime.”

Adkins said he called Sheriff Tommy Wooten but his call went straight to voicemail.

Prior to Brown’s death, Adkins said, Pasquotank deputies regularly provided escorts at his funerals. He has reached out twice seeking the service since Brown’s death, he said, but no deputies were provided.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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