Andrew Brown Jr. was fatally shot in the back of the head, state autopsy says

Andrew Brown Jr., a Black man who was fatally shot by North Carolina deputies in April, died of a gunshot wound to the back of his head, according to a state autopsy report released Thursday. The autopsy, which confirms the major findings of a previous autopsy commissioned by Brown's family, is fueling new calls for the release of the full body camera footage of the altercation. 

Brown was killed in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, after sheriff's deputies who were serving felony warrants and a search warrant surrounded his car. A brief video of the shooting, released in May, shows the car backing away as officers try to gather around it before Brown turns left in an apparent attempt to drive away between the officers. Deputies fired a total of 14 shots, and the car crashed soon after.  The 42-year-old's cause of death was determined to be a "penetrating gunshot wound of the head" and the manner of death was ruled a homicide, according to the report. Brown was also shot in the upper part of his right arm, according to the report. The autopsy found a small amount of methamphetamine in his system but said it "likely did not play a role in Mr. Brown's cause or manner of death."