It has been six days since Andrew Brown Jr. was killed by police in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. After days of protest, public criticism and intense emotion, communities across the nation are preparing to receive body camera footage detailing what took place on April 21. In anticipation of the video's release, local officials in North Carolina have declared a state of emergency.
"It seems likely that the video and audio footage will be released in the very near future. In order to ensure the safety of our citizens and their property, City officials realize there may be a potential period of unrest within the City following the public release of the footage," the state of emergency order reads.
While the nation waits to learn more, attorneys for the Brown family have already seen some of the footage that will be released this week. Attorneys Bakari Sellers, Ben Crump and Chantel Cherry-Lassiter have spoken quite candidly about the interaction that led to Brown Jr.'s death. Cherry-Lassiter explained that the body camera footage is about 20 seconds long and shows the 42-year-old father being shot to death as his hands sit on the steering wheel. She ultimately described it as an "execution."
"He wasn't reaching for anything, he wasn't touching anything, he wasn't throwing anything around," she said.
Members of the Brown family were also visibly disturbed by what led to Brown Jr.'s "execution." During a recent interview, one of Brown Jr.'s sons, Khalil Ferebee, spoke openly about the pain of losing his father and what his death means in the larger context of American society.
"I want to see all these killings stop," Ferebee told Anderson Cooper.
"There's too much going on in this world and we don't need that. They are supposed to protect us but they are doing the harm. It's got to stop somewhere."
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