A black man shot multiple times in an apparent 'execution' by cops last week was described by law enforcement as a drug dealer wit...
A black man shot multiple times in an apparent 'execution' by cops last week was described by law enforcement as a drug dealer with a long rap sheet dating back to 1988, according to a report.
Andrew Brown Jr., 42, had a 180 page criminal record and had been filmed selling narcotics in the weeks leading up to his death last Wednesday, Fox News reported Monday.
Brown was shot and killed by Pasquotank County sheriff's deputies Wednesday morning. He was inside his car in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, when the officers were serving him an arrest warrant.
Brown's family have described his death as an 'execution', saying he had his hands on the steering wheel of the car and was shot in the back of the head as up to eight deputies opened fire.
Calls are mounting for authorities to release the bodycam footage of the incident with his family finally granted their request to watch video of the incident Monday - only for them to reveal they were allowed to watch just 20 seconds of footage from just one of at least eight officers on the scene.
Seven deputies have been placed on administrative leave following the shooting, two others have resigned and one deputy has retired, but none of their identities have been released.
While law enforcement have released few details of the fatal shooting and questions continue to mount over the lack of transparency around their part in Brown's death six days on from the shooting, the force instead released court documents Monday about the search warrant that brought them to Brown that day.
It's a move that has sparked more outrage with the family's attorney Ben Crump accusing authorities of protecting the officers while they 'assassinate the character' of Brown.
Brown's death came just one day after white cop Derek Chauvin was found guilty of the murder of black man George Floyd in a moment that many had hoped was a step forward in the fight against police brutality and systemic racism across America.
Andrew Brown Jr., 42, (pictured) - who was shot multiple times in an apparent 'execution' by cops last week - had a long rap sheet dating back to 1988, according to a report
According to the search warrant released Monday, investigators had recorded Brown selling small amounts of cocaine and methamphetamine to an informant.
The informant had told Agent R.D. Johnson of the Dare County Narcotics Task Force they had bought drugs including cocaine, 'crack' cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine from Brown several times over the course of more than a year, reads the warrant, seen by Fox.
The unidentified individual described Brown as a 'drug dealer' in the Elizabeth City/Pasquotank County area, the warrant reads.
It was requested by Pasquotank County Sheriff's Office Investigator D. Ryan Meads and was signed off by North Carolina Superior Court Senior Resident Judge Jerry R. Tillett on April 20 to allow the search of Brown's home on Perry Street in Elizabeth County.
It said that an investigator in nearby Dare County was told by the informant that the person had been purchasing crack cocaine and other drugs from Brown for over a year.
The informant described purchasing drugs at the house that was the target of the search and claimed to have seen crack cocaine in the property in the 14 days leading up to Wednesday's shooting.
They also claimed to have met Brown at other locations including hotels and motels and locations in Dare County to complete the exchange.
In one incident on March 17, narcotics officers used the informant to conduct a controlled purchases of cocaine from Brown that was recorded on camera and audio devices, according to the warrant.
Protesters march in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, Monday night as officers are still to release bodycam of the footage six days after Brown's death
Calls are mounting for authorities to release the bodycam footage of the incident with his family finally granted their request to watch video of the incident Monday - only for them to reveal they were allowed to watch just 20 seconds of footage
Hundreds of demonstrators, including Rev. Raymond Johnson, protested on Monday night
Later that month, on March 29, the informant was used to carry out a purchase of methamphetamine from Brown, the warrant says.
The search warrant says investigators believed Brown was storing, packaging and distributing drugs out of his home and two BMWs.
They believed Brown was using the home as a 'secure location' to store drugs, money and records of sales, it states,
Investigator Meads and other members of the drug task force were 'familiar with Brown and know him to be a source of supply of 'crack' cocaine, cocaine, heroin/fentanyl and methamphetamine to the Elizabeth City/ Pasquotank County area,' the warrant says.
Two arrest warrants released last week charged Brown with possession with intent to sell and deliver 3 grams of each of the drugs.
The court document, which indicated the search was not completed, did not list that anything had been found.
And Brown's aunt Betty Banks said cops had told the family they did not find any drugs or weapons in neither his cars or home, reported CNN.
Andrew Brown, a 42-year-old father of 10, was shot in his car on April 21 by sheriffs
Brown was shot and killed by Pasquotank County sheriff's deputies Wednesday morning. He was inside his BMW (above) in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, when the officers were serving him an arrest warrant
Crump has argued that authorities have released the warrant information to 'assassinate' Brown's character while they are refusing to release bodycam or the details of the officer-involved shooting.
'Now, you all may have noticed that they released a warrant saying all kinds of things about Andrew Brown, but they want to redact the face of the... officers that killed Andrew Brown,' he said.
He added that law officials blurring deputies' faces are 'going to protect them and not show their face and not say their names... because what they want to do is assassinate the character' of Brown.
Pasquotank County Attorney Michael Cox showed Brown's family and attorneys a 20-second clip from one deputy's body camera Monday.
Attorney Chantel Cherry-Lassiter said it showed an 'execution'.
She said it shows deputies shot Brown as he sat with his hands on the steering wheel of his BMW.
The black man was shot in the back of the head, according to his death certificate.
'They are trying to hide something,' Crump said. 'They don't want us to see everything.'
Attorney Ben Crump holds the arm of Khalil Brown, who called his dad's death an execution
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