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Prosecutor Andrew Womble shows a photo of the police operation in which Andrew Brown was killed
Photo: Chris Day / AP
The US judiciary is not bringing charges against the police after the fatal police shots of an African American man in the state of North Carolina. The use of lethal force in the attempted arrest of Andrew Brown in April was "justified," said prosecutor Andrew Womble on Tuesday in the city of Elizabeth City. Brown, sitting in his car, wanted to flee, using his car as a "deadly weapon" and thereby "endangering" the lives of the police officers.
Police arrested Brown on April 21 in the small town of Elizabeth City on drug charges and wanted to conduct a house search.
On Tuesday, footage from the officers' body cameras showed how the heavily armed police surrounded the car in which the 42-year-old was sitting and asked him to leave the vehicle.
Brown then first reversed the car and then drove forward.
The police evaded and fired 14 shots at the moving car.
One bullet struck Brown in the back of the head, fatally injuring him.
The entire incident lasted exactly 44 seconds, according to prosecutors.
"An insult and a slap in the face"
Brown's death was "tragic but justified," said prosecutor Womble on Tuesday.
"The decision to flee, which Brown made himself, led to a rapid escalation of the situation." The police officers had the right to defend themselves against the "threat of death."
The lawyers of Brown's bereaved immediately criticized the prosecutor's assessment.
This wanted to "wash away an unjustified killing".
Calling the shots justified in the light of the facts is "an insult and a slap in the face" to Andrew's family and the Elizabeth City community.
Observers raised the question of how great the danger to the police actually was.
According to prosecutors, a police officer was hit twice by Brown's car.
It was unclear whether Brown was approaching the cops or trying to evade them.
Many shots were fired when Brown drove past the police officers.
Brown's relatives had spoken of an "execution" of the African American in April and demanded that the body camera recordings be published in full.
Prosecutor Womble showed recordings for the first time at the press conference on Tuesday, but only excerpts.
The fatal incident occurred the day after the guilty verdict in the trial of George Floyd, who was killed by police in Minneapolis.
White ex-cop Derek Chauvin, who held Floyd's knee back for nine and a half minutes on May 25, 2020, was convicted of second degree murder, among other things.
The sentence is due to be announced on June 25th.
In the United States, deadly violence by police officers against unarmed blacks is causing outrage.
After Floyd's death, demonstrators across the country took to the streets under the motto "Black Lives Matter".
cop / dpa
