According to a $30 million civil rights complaint filed Wednesday by the family of an unarmed Black man who was shot by sheriff’s deputies in North Carolina, he died as a result of the officers’ “intentional and reckless disregard for his life.”
Brown’s BMW was encircled by deputies before he backed up and went ahead. They shot at and into his vehicle many times. A gunshot to the back of his skull killed him.
Brown’s lawyers claimed that the shooting was unjustified since Brown was attempting to flee, not toward the officers.
At a press conference, attorney Harry Daniels said, “This complaint was straightforward to prepare because of the facts in this case.” “Anyone can see that this was a wrongful death.”
In March, the family of George Floyd, who was murdered in police custody in Minneapolis last year, reached a $27 million settlement. Breonna Taylor’s family was awarded $12 million by the city of Louisville, Kentucky, in September, in exchange for police reform.
Brown’s paternal aunt, Lillie Brown Clark, who is the administrator for his estate, filed the case in a US District Court in North Carolina. Brown, 42, was the father of seven children, according to the lawsuit.
Sheriff Tommy Wooten II of Pasquotank County and numerous officers are among the defendants. Wooten’s office “has no comments on the complaint,” according to Maj. Aaron Wallis in an email to The Associated Press.
Andrew Womble, the district attorney, cleared the deputies in May. He said they were justifiable because Brown had almost run over a deputy with his automobile while defying orders to reveal his hands and exit the vehicle.
The federal lawsuit is the latest repercussion of the shooting, which shocked the tiny town in northeastern North Carolina.
Residents claim to have been demonstrating for the previous 85 days. One of the deputies who shot Brown’s vehicle with his pistol has resigned. The killing was also the subject of a civil rights investigation by the FBI.
Outside law enforcement analysts have criticized the incident, claiming that cops should not shoot at a vehicle if there is no other lethal threat.
Daniels stated, “They had no authorization to shoot him.”
However, Candace McCoy, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, doubts that the Brown case will result in a substantial settlement or jury judgment.
“You might make a fair argument that someone’s life was at risk in this particular instance,” McCoy said.
In terms of police wrongdoing, she said the Floyd and Taylor instances were “light years” apart from the Brown case.
“Over the last 40 years, the effect of these cases has been extremely crucial in lowering police use of force nationwide,” she added.