‘Same script different cast’: Decision on Andrew Brown shooting sparks outrage

Frustration, anger and confusion quickly surfaced Tuesday after a North Carolina prosecutor said sheriff’s deputies will not be charged in the fatal shooting of a 42-year-old Black man.

Andrew Womble, the Pasquotank County district attorney, made the announcement as he shared details of state’s investigation into the final moments of Andrew Brown Jr.’s life.

Brown died on April 21 after Pasquotank County deputies came to his home in Elizabeth City to serve arrest and search warrants. Video from body-worn cameras, played during a press conference Tuesday morning, show deputies fired at Brown’s car as he tried to drive away.

Bakari Sellers, an attorney for Brown’s family, said he disagreed with Womble’s assertion that Brown had used vehicle as a weapon.

“The ‘contact’ was minimal at best & initiated by officers,” Sellers said on Twitter. “He was beyond law enforcement when multiple shots were fired, including kill shot to the back of head.”

Joy-Ann Reid, a political commentator and national correspondent for MSNBC, also criticized the prosecutor’s decision, noting that police arrived in Brown’s neighborhood “armed up like a military unit” to arrest him on drug charges.

“And the D.A. is saying this is all fine,” she wrote on Twitter. “I feel sick.

Brown’s death gained national attention, with activists and elected officials calling for the deputies’ body-worn camera footage to be made public. But a judge blocked its release, though Brown’s family could see it.

Brown’s family said an autopsy showed he had a fatal gunshot wound to the back of the head.

On Tuesday, one Twitter user seemed to reference past cases in which shootings were deemed justified: “Same script different cast.”

Others criticized the way the district attorney characterized Brown during his announcement.

“So they’re having a whole press conference just to attack a dead man (Andrew Brown) and vindicate the people who killed him,” said CNN commentator Ken Boykin.

But at least one social media user saw the situation differently.



“Andrew Brown Jr. only has Andrew Brown Jr. to blame for the death of Andrew Brown Jr.,” one person wrote in a tweet.

Here’s what others had to say on social media.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Body-cam footage from police isn’t public record in NC. But what about other states?

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