Black man shot dead by sheriff’s deputy in North Carolina North Carolina

A delegate from a North Carolina sheriff shot dead a black man while serving a warrant, authorities said, adding that it increased police following the Derek Chauvin trial and the murder of Ma’Khia Bryant.

The deputy in Elizabeth City, near the Atlantic coast, has been placed on leave pending an investigation by the state Bureau of Investigation, Pasquotank sheriff Tommy Wooten told a news conference on Wednesday.

Wooten said the deputy shot Andrew Brown Wednesday morning around 8:30 p.m. The deputy was wearing an active body camera during the shooting, said the sheriff, who did not want to identify the officer or say how many shots he fired.

Wooten did not give any details about the warrant. According to court reports, Brown was 42 years old and has a history of drug possession and drug possession convictions.

An eyewitness said Brown was shot while trying to run away, and that deputies fired at him several times. The car slipped out of Brown’s garden and eventually hit a tree, said Demetria Williams, who lives on the same street.

Williams said after hearing one gunshot, she ran outside, where she saw other shots being fired at the car.

“When they opened the door, he was already dead,” Williams told the Associated Press. “He was overwhelmed.”

According to her, officers tried to chest him.

A car authority removed from the scene apparently has several bullet holes and a broken windshield behind.

Dozens of people gathered to express their anger at the shooting incident in Elizabeth, a city of about 18,000 people, 274 km north-east of Raleigh. A large crowd, some holding signs signifying ‘Black Lives Matter’ and ‘Stop the kill unarmed Black Men’, later stood outside City Hall while the city council held an emergency meeting.

A group later gathered in the sheriff’s parking lot and a crowd that grew to more than 200 blocked traffic on a highway.

“The police do not have to shoot my baby,” said Martha McCullen, an Aunt of Brown, who raised him after his parents died.

“Andrew Brown was a good man,” she said. “He was about to get his children back. He was a good father. Now his children will never see him again. ‘

During the emergency council meeting, in the midst of multiple police shootings across the country, black members spoke about the fears of their community and asked investigators to remain transparent.

“I’m scared as a black man,” said councilor Gabriel Adkins. “I’m afraid I might be the next one to see my family on the news that I was shot dead.”

Adkins said businesses in the vicinity of the shooting have begun climbing their windows in anticipation of violence.

“Not only do we need transparency … we need accountability,” councilor Darius Horton said. He demanded that the images from the body camera be released immediately, the warrant and a quick explanation of what led to the shooting. “We need answers. … Let us not hide behind anything. ”

Among those gathered at the scene of the shooting was Keith Rivers, president of the Pasquotank Provincial Chapter of the NAACP.

‘When is it going to stop? “We only got a verdict yesterday,” Rivers said, referring to the convictions in the trial of Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, in the death of George Floyd.

‘Is it open season now? At some point, it has to stop. We need to start holding those responsible accountable. ”

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