Judge Limits Bodycam Footage Of Andrew Brown Jr. Shooting

The family of Andrew Brown Jr., who was fatally shot in his car by sheriff’s deputies in Elizabeth City, North Carolina won’t see all of the footage of the killing.  The family will only be shown a portion of body camera footage recorded at the scene and could wait days longer to view any of the recording due to a judge’s written ruling, reported CBS News.

The Brown family’s attorneys expected to view the video this week after Judge Jeffery Foster ruled on Tuesday (April 27) that the family would watch the videos “within 10 days.” According to CBS News, the judge said he would also specify in a written order which portions they could see.

However, it took the Superior Court judge until Thursday to issue the written ruling. In documents obtained by CBS News, the written ruling now says the 10-day time period starts from then.

The ruling also limits the family to viewing fewer than 20 minutes of the nearly two hours of video that was recorded before and after Brown was killed.

“The portions of the videos withheld are found to not contain images of the deceased, and thus are not appropriate for disclosure at this time,” Foster wrote.

In addition to nationally prominent civil rights leaders and attorneys, many city residents are demanding full release of the body camera footage due to concerns that the shooting was unjustified and that Brown was “executed,” according to CBS News.

RELATED: FBI Opening Investigation Into Andrew Brown Jr.’s Fatal Shooting 

A prosecutor said that Brown’s car ran into the deputies before they opened fire. 

Foster’s order contained a brief description of the footage. The judge wrote that Brown “attempted to flee the scene and escape apprehension” and that “at least one and as many as three officers fired their weapons into the vehicle operated by Brown.”

According to CBS News, Foster said he would not publicly release the footage because it could jeopardize the ongoing investigation into Brown’s death or threaten the safety of people seen in the footage during the Tuesday (April 27) hearing.

Foster said the video must remain out of public view for at least 30 days, but he would consider releasing it after that point if investigations are complete.

Family members have only been allowed to view a 20-second clip from a single body camera. Family attorney Chantel Cherry-Lassiter told reporters last week that shots were heard from the instant the clip started with Brown’s car in his driveway and his hands on the steering wheel.

Cherry-Lassiter said Brown did not try to back away until after deputies ran up to his car and began shooting, and he did not pose a threat to deputies. “He finally decides to try to get away and he backs out, not toward officers at all,” Cherry-Lassiter said.

Brown was shot five times, including in the back of the head, according to an independent autopsy commissioned by his family.

District Attorney Andrew Womble, who viewed the body camera videos, told Judge Foster at the hearing that Brown’s car made “contact” with law enforcement twice before shots could be heard on the video, CBS News  reported.

“As it backs up, it does make contact with law enforcement officers,” Womble said, adding that the car stops again. “The next movement of the car is forward. It is in the direction of law enforcement and makes contact with law enforcement. It is then and only then that you hear shots.”

According to CBS News, the district attorney said that officers shouted commands and tried to open a car door before any shots were fired.

None of the deputies were injured, according to previous statements by the Pasquotank County sheriff, Tommy Wooten II.