Two North Carolina sheriff’s deputies who were placed on administrative leave after firing their guns in the fatal shooting of an unarmed Black man in April returned to active duty this week, according to reports.
Pasquotank County Sheriff Tommy Wooten II said Friday that Investigator Daniel Meads and Deputy Sheriff Robert Morgan were both back on the job as of Wednesday.
A third deputy, Cpl. Aaron Lewellyn, has resigned but will remain on paid leave until June 30, when his resignation will officially go into effect, Wooten said.
Four other officers involved but who did not fire their service weapons during the April 21 incident in Elizabeth City had already returned to duty, identified as Lt. Steven Judd, Sgt. Michael Swindell, Sgt. Kenneth Bishop and Sgt. Joel Lunsford.
None of the officers who fired their guns were charged in Andrew Brown Jr.’s death.
Last month, District Attorney Andrew Womble concluded that the shooting of Brown was justified because the man’s actions while trying to evade arrest led deputies to “reasonably believe” deadly force was necessary.
The exact version of events that day, however, remains in dispute as family attorneys have not had an opportunity to view the complete camera footage of the shooting and continue to maintain that the 42-year-old father of seven was “executed” while sitting in his car in fear for his life.
Attorneys for the family who watched redacted versions of the body camera footage have said repeatedly that Brown was only trying to drive away from deputies serving drug-related warrants and posed no threat.
Reporters also challenged Womble’s version of events, noting that Brown’s car had turned away from the officers before the shooting started.
Brown was shot five times and killed by a single gunshot to the back of the head, according to the results of an independent autopsy released by the family.
Brown was actively resisting arrest and attempting to flee when he aggressively “used his vehicle as a deadly weapon,” Womble said last month.
Brown family lawyers continue to express outrage that the full body camera footage has remained concealed from the public nearly two months after the shooting.
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