Video Shows Andrew Brown Drove Away from Police
The Claim
Andrew Brown Jr., a Black man killed by police officers, drove his car into law enforcement before he was shot.
News posted on
Emerging story
The police involved in the killing of Andrew Brown Jr. are currently being investigated for police brutality. The prosecutor, the local district attorney, said that body-cam footage shows that Brown struck deputies with his car before driving away. Some took to social media to voice their concerns.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar's investigation found that much of the case involves footage from body cameras on the officers, which has not yet been released to the public. While the judge wants the video to be released, he has elected instead to delay its release by 30 days.
It seems that what happened in the footage isn’t so cut and dry. The attorney representing Brown’s family, Chance Lynch, said that the video didn’t show him hitting deputies at all. Rather, he tried to avoid police entirely.
According to Lynch, Brown had backed up because a group of deputies were in front of his vehicle. While the deputies made physical contact with the vehicle, that was because they reached out and touched it voluntarily. Brown's family also watched the full body-cam footage, and said that he didn’t pose “any threat at all” to police. Further, the deputies involved did not sustain any injuries.
It appears that Brown did not drive his car into the police, which would make the claim false; however, since the video has not been released to the public yet, we currently rate this claim as commotion.
