NEW YORK - Rev. Al Sharpton and the National Action Network (NAN) are calling for United States Attorney General Merrick Garland to intervene in the case of Andrew Brown Jr.'s death.
This comes after District Attorney Andrew Womble held a press conference Tuesday morning, in which he said Pasquotank County deputies were justified in shooting Brown because Brown's actions made it justifiable for them to use deadly force. As a result, no deputies involved in the April 21 incident will be charged.
Mentioning Womble's claim that Brown's death was a "justified measure of public safety," Sharpton and the group asked, "How can the loss of life in a manner such as shooting a man in the back of the head be justified?"
They said there are "obvious... political motivations behind the DA’s nonsensical and unjustifiable decision" and said they would continue fighting for justice.
The full statement statement can be read below:
The Elizabeth City District Attorney, who is concurrently running for Superior Court Judge, Mr. Andrew Womble gave a bizarre and unconvincing defense of his decision to not charge the Sergeant and deputies for shooting Andrew Brown Jr. in the back of the head. DA Womble is claiming that Anthony Brown’s death was a justified measure of public safety. How can the loss of life in a manner such as shooting a man in the back of the head be justified? That is why we are calling on Attorney General Merrick Garland to intervene with the resources and authority of the federal government and/or a special prosecutor. It is obvious that there are political motivations behind the DA’s nonsensical and unjustifiable decision, and we intend to continue fighting for justice in this case.
During Tuesday's briefing, Womble walked through the events that took place leading up to the fatal shooting by deputies on April 21. Womble says deputies received two arrest warrants along with a search warrant for both of Brown's vehicle and home.
Womble says the warrants were in reference to Brown being accused of selling drugs in the county.
The district attorney went on to say the recent details that weren't released before are due to wanting to keep the integrity of the case and said he understands frustrations from the public and media. However, he added that citizens should not jump to conclusions until all facts are out.
Despite Womble showing clips of the body cam footage to the media during the briefing, he said the rest of the video will need to go through the courts for it to be released to the public.
