Sheriff's deputies were "justified" in fatal shooting of Andrew Brown Jr., district attorney says

North Carolina sheriff's deputies were "justified" in their fatal shooting of a Black man in April because the man ignored their commands and drove his car directly at one of them before they fired any shots, a prosecutor said Tuesday. District Attorney Andrew Womble said none of the deputies involved would be criminally charged in the fatal shooting of Andrew Brown Jr.

"The officers' actions were consistent with their training and fully supported under the law in protecting their lives and this community," Womble said during a press conference. The district attorney said that Brown used his car as a "deadly weapon," causing Pasquotank County deputies to believe it was necessary to use deadly force. Womble acknowledged Brown wasn't armed with guns or other weapons as deputies were trying to take him into custody while serving drug-related warrants at his house in Elizabeth City on April 21.