By Steve Neavling
The FBI has launched a federal civil rights investigation into the death of Andrew Brown Jr., a Black man fatally shot by sheriff’s deputies in North Carolina last week.
“Agents will work closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina and the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice to determine whether federal laws were violated,” FBI spokeswoman Shelley Lynch told The News & Observer on Tuesday. “As this is an ongoing investigation, we cannot comment further.”
Brown, 42, was shot five times, including once in the back of the head, while Pasquotank County Sheriff’s Office deputies were serving drug-related search and arrests warrants on April 21, one day after a jury found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of the murder of George Floyd.
Details of the shooting remain murky.
The city has imposed a curfew after protesters took to the streets demanding justice.
