Father Al Sharpton speaks at the funeral for Andrew Brown Jr. on May 3, 2021, at Fountain of Life Church in Elizabeth City, NC
Gerry Broome / AP
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Gerry Broome / AP
Father Al Sharpton speaks at the funeral for Andrew Brown Jr. on May 3, 2021, at Fountain of Life Church in Elizabeth City, NC
Gerry Broome / AP
The North Carolina sheriff’s office announced a $3 million settlement Monday in a lawsuit filed by the family of an unarmed black man who was shot by sheriff’s deputies. died in his car over a year ago.
Andrew Brown Jr’s family has filed a $30 million civil rights lawsuit in 2021, saying the man’s death by officers showed “a willful and reckless disregard for his life”. .”
Brown was killed on April 21 of last year by the Pasquotank County sheriff while they were executing a drug-related wanted warrant at his home in Elizabeth City. Several delegates surrounded Brown in his BMW before his car backed up and moved forward. They fired multiple shots at and into his car. He was killed by a bullet to the back of the head.
District Attorney Andrew Womble told a news conference last year that Brown used his vehicle as a “deadly weapon”, leading congressmen to believe that deadly force was necessary. However, attorneys for the Brown family argued that the shooting was unfounded because Brown was trying to drive away – not toward deputies and that he was not threatening. After viewing camera footage of the shooting, they said Brown was sitting in a stationary car with the steering wheel at the wheel when the first of several shots was fired.
The settlement was approved by the Pasquotank County People’s Committee. It includes a $1 million special deduction along with $2 million from the county insurance policy, provided by the North Carolina County Liability Team, according to a statement from the sheriff’s office. chief supplied to the Associated Press. That amount is at the limit of the policy.
The settlement was reached within weeks of last month in a case overseen by a federal judge in U.S. District Court in Raleigh, the report said.
The county’s payment will address potential liability to the defendants and any individual officers named or may be named as defendants in the lawsuit, the news release said. The family also released a stipulation in which it denied all claims against the defendants, namely Pasquotank County Sheriff Tommy Wooten II and three sheriff’s deputy deputies, as well as claims Another potential arose from Brown’s death, the news release said.
Brown’s children will share the proceeds of the settlement as heirs to his estate, the sheriff’s office said.
“Andrew Brown Jr is a devoted father who wants his children to have what he does not have,” said a statement from five attorneys representing his family. “While no agreement can fill the hole his death left in their hearts, this agreement is about providing a future for those children, ensuring their education.” them and make sure their dreams don’t die with their father.”
At the time, the Brown family case was the latest in a string of federal civil rights lawsuits following the high-profile police shootings of Blacks and browns. Many end up in settlements that often include money but do not identify crimes. Some cases end up in court where a jury can make large settlements that are reduced on appeal.
An independent autopsy commissioned by the family said Brown was shot five times, including once in the back of the head. Family members were later given a separate view of a portion of camera video that showed Brown trying to drive away when he was shot. The shooting sparked days of protests in the city in rural northeastern North Carolina.
