RALEIGH, N.C. – A North Carolina law that gives local courts authority over the release of body camera video has come under a harsh glare after a judge refused to make public footage of deputies shooting and killing Andrew Brown Jr.
The 2016 law says that law enforcement video is not a public record and generally cannot be released without court approval.
A judge ruled Wednesday that body camera and dashboard footage of Brown's death must be kept from public view for at least another month to avoid harming a state investigation.
The April 21 shooting happened as deputies were serving drug-related warrants at Brown's home in Elizabeth City. Lawyers for Brown’s family and racial justice advocates decry what they see as slow movement to