Gov. Cooper calls for special prosecutor to investigate shooting of Andrew Brown Jr.
As national attention has focused on Elizabeth City following the shooting death of Andrew Brown Jr. by Pasquotank County deputies, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is calling for a special prosecutor to investigate.
“This would help assure the community and Mr. Brown’s family that a decision on pursuing criminal charges is conducted without bias,” Cooper said in a statement released Tuesday afternoon. “This position is consistent with the change in the law recommended by our Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice which calls for a special prosecutor in police shootings.”
Cooper’s statement came amid a busy and emotional day in Elizabeth City on Tuesday.
In the morning, attorneys for the Brown family held a news conference to release the results of a private autopsy. It concluded that Brown died from a “kill shot to the back of the head.”
On Tuesday afternoon, the Rev. William Barber II and a group of faith leaders met in Elizabeth City and called for North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein to take over the case. Barber called local authorities “inept, incompetent and incapable.”
Stein tweeted support Tuesday for the State Bureau of Investigation’s work on the case.
“A number of people have asked me to take over this prosecution. I want to clarify that under North Carolina law, the District Attorney, not the Attorney General, controls the prosecution of criminal cases,” Stein tweeted.
“For my office to play a role in the prosecution, the District Attorney must request our assistance. My office has reached out to District Attorney Andrew Womble to offer that assistance, which he has acknowledged.”
The Rev. T. Anthony Spearman, president of the North Carolina NAACP, met with Barber and other ministers Tuesday. He echoed Barber’s criticisms of District Attorney Andrew Womble and the handling of the investigation.
Spearman said Womble will not return the group’s calls and accused him of “manipulating the chess board of white supremacy.” He reminded voters to remember this come election time when Womble is on the ballot for Superior Court judge.
Also Tuesday, the FBI announced that it was launching a civil rights investigation into the Brown shooting.
After hearing about the FBI investigation, attorneys for Brown’s family praised the FBI investigation in a statement Tuesday.
“We have great faith that this caliber of an investigation will prevent any obscuring of the facts released to the Brown family and public, and will overcome any local bias that may prevent justice from being served,” they said.
U.S. Rep. Greg Murphy, a Greenville Republican whose district covers Elizabeth City, said in a statement that he sends his deepest condolences to Brown’s family. Murphy told The News & Observer that he’s been in contact with Pasquotank County Sheriff Tommy Wooten about the case.
Murphy said Wooten told him that transparency is key in these situations and that the details of the case should come to light in accordance with the law. He said Wooten also requested an outside investigation by the State Bureau of Investigation and a separate investigation into his agency.
“It is imperative that we seriously and responsibly allow the full investigation of this incident to move forward before drawing conclusions,” Murphy said.
This story was originally published April 27, 2021 at 4:18 PM.
