PASQUOTANK Co., N.C. - The Pasquotank Co. chapter of the NAACP, local city officials and the Andrew Brown family attorney spoke after meeting with the district attorney on Thursday.
Keith Rivers with the NAACP called for more transparency from the sheriff's department. He said this transparency will build trust with the community and that without it, trust is lost.
He said this transparency would start with releasing the body camera footage that was taken when Brown was shot by a deputy on April 21 in Elizabeth City.
According to the Pasquotank County Sheriff's Office, a search warrant was conducted in the 400 block of Perry Street at around 8:30 a.m. A deputy shot and fatally wounded the resident while serving the search warrant, officials said. That resident was later identified as Brown.
While information about what the warrant was for was initially not released, in a video statement released Thursday evening, Sheriff Tommy Wooten and Chief Deputy Daniel Fogg said it was for felony drug charges.
On Wednesday night, Elizabeth City City Council members met to talk about what happened to Brown. As the meeting went on inside, outside people gathered reacting to the incident and demanding answers and transparency.
Rivers said Thursday, "Many times it’s not the act but what we do after the act that determines who and what we are."
He went on to say that the sheriff's office had not reached out to leadership of the Black community and has "failed to create transparency."
Brown family attorney Harry Daniels said the district attorney has vowed for transparency and accountability and said the community is waiting to see what happens and what that transparency is.
When answering questions, Daniels claimed that multiple witnesses have said Brown was not armed.
Daniels said they would like to meet with the sheriff and any other official willing to speak with them about what happened.
Keith Rivers with the NAACP said Sheriff Wooten can release the body camera footage and that peaceful protests will continue until they see the footage and speak with the sheriff.
In the video statement, Wooten said only the judge can release the body camera footage.
Protesters met near the intersection of Water & Elizabeth Streets at the foot of the Camden Causeway bridge around 5:30 p.m. Thursday.
