Giffords Demands Justice After the Shooting of Andrew Brown Jr.
Washington DC — Giffords, the gun violence prevention organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, called for accountability and justice after law enforcement officers shot and killed Andrew Brown Jr., a father of seven, in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, on April 21. Today a judge decided that petitions to release full police footage of the incident were not enough to make the full footage of the incident available to the public. The fatal shooting took place one day after the murder conviction of a former police officer in the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Giffords Executive Director Peter Ambler and Giffords Law Center Executive Director Robyn Thomas issued the following statement:
“Because of a barrage of bullets from a police officer’s gun, Andrew Brown Jr. will never get to see his children again. The shooting that took his life reminds us we have yet to truly confront the unbearable toll that police violence takes on Black and Brown Americans. The reality is that those sworn to protect our communities too often do the opposite—with devastating outcomes.
“Andrew can’t be brought back, but the one thing we can, and must, do is bring accountability around this tragedy. His family and the public deserve full transparency in the ongoing investigation to ensure any officer who used lethal force without justification is held accountable. The footage needs to be released for the world to see.
“We must fundamentally reform policing so police violence no longer ends the dreams and lives of Black and Brown Americans, from Daunte Wright to Ma’Khia Bryant to Adam Toledo to Andrew Brown Jr., and so many more. This devastating cycle of violence must end.”
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