PASQUOTANK COUNTY, N.C. — Seven North Carolina sheriff’s deputies have been placed on administrative leave following the fatal police shooting of a black man on Wednesday, according to reports.
Sheriff Tommy Wooten said the deputies were executing a search warrant and an arrest warrant for felony narcotic charges when Andrew Brown Jr. was “fatally wounded.”
“Our deputies attempted to serve the arrest warrant,” Wooten told reporters in a statement released Wednesday, The Hill reported. “They fired the shots. They’ve been put on administrative leave until we know all the facts.”
“What I will say is that if evidence shows that any of my deputies violate the law or policies, they will be held accountable,” Wooten added.
Maj. Aaron Wallio of the Pasquotank County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Friday that the seven deputies were on leave, while two others have resigned and one has retired since the shooting of Brown in Elizabeth City, The New York Times reported.
The sheriff’s office said the resignations are not related to the incident, according to Fox News.
The office has not described the circumstances surrounding the incident further, which has led to increased demands for the sheriff’s office to release the deputies’ body camera footage.
The day before the shooting, nearby Dare County issued two arrest warrants for Brown on drug-related charges, including possession with intent to sell cocaine, according to court documents released Thursday.
Daily demonstrations have occurred since the shooting, with protesters demanding more information.
