Andrew Brown Jr. was killed by a gunshot wound to the back of the head after North Carolina sheriff’s deputies opened fire while executing search warrants April 21, according to official state autopsy results that were released Thursday.
The autopsy by the North Carolina Medical Examiner’s Office, conducted the day after Brown’s death at East Carolina University’s Brody School of Medicine and overseen by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, confirmed the results of an earlier autopsy conducted by an independent pathologist hired by Brown’s family to examine his body.
None of the officers who fired their guns at Brown have been charged, and they along with several others involved in the operation to arrest the unarmed Black man have already returned to active duty.
Last month, Pasquotank County District Attorney Andrew Womble concluded the shooting of Brown was justified because the man’s actions while trying to evade arrest in his car 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 in front of his Elizabeth City home, according to the independent autopsy released by the family.
The state autopsy report states, however, that Brown was shot just one other time in the arm while noting several bullet holes in Brown’s vehicle’s trunk, back windshield, and the passenger side rear door and windshield.
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.
It remains unclear which officer fired the fatal shot.
Two deputies who were placed on administrative leave after opening fire on Brown’s car — Daniel Meads and Robert Morgan — returned to work last week, according to Pasquotank County Sheriff Tommy Wooten II.
A third deputy who fired his gun, 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 incident had already returned to duty, identified as Lt. Steven Judd, Sgt. Michael Swindell, Sgt. Kenneth Bishop and Sgt. Joel Lunsford.
This is a developing story. Please stay with AJC.com for the latest updates.
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