2 North Carolina deputies involved in fatal Andrew Brown Jr. shooting return to work

• Two deputies who fired their guns during the shooting of Andrew Brown in April returned to work this week.
• Deputies fatally shot Brown, a Black man, while carrying out an arrest warrant on drug charges.
• Brown's death sparked protests and demands for the public release of body camera footage.

Two North Carolina sheriff's deputies who fired their guns in the April shooting of Andrew Brown Jr. returned to work earlier this week.

A third deputy who fired his gun plans to resign at the end of the month.

Pasquotank County Sheriff Tommy Wooten said Friday that deputies Daniel Meads and Robert Morgan were both back on the job as of Wednesday. Deputy Aaron Lewellyn reportedly told the sheriff's office that he will use his accrued leave through the end of June and then resign.

Deputies fatally shot Brown, a Black man, at his home in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, on April 21, while law enforcement officers were carrying out an arrest warrant on drug charges.

The sheriff's office said Brown, 42, was fleeing deputies when he was shot multiple times, but Brown's family insisted he was unarmed at the time.

An independent autopsy Brown's family released showed he died from a gunshot wound to the back of his head.

Seven Pasquotank County Sheriff's deputies were placed on administrative leave following the shooting but four of them returned to work at the end of April after the sheriff's office said body camera footage showed they had not fired their guns.

Meads, Morgan, and Lewellyn, who authorities said did fire their guns, remained on leave while the State Bureau of Investigation looked into the shooting.

In May, the Pasquotank County District Attorney Andrew Womble determined Brown's killing was justified. Womble said Brown's actions caused the three deputies to "reasonably believe it was necessary to use deadly force to protect themselves and others."

Attorneys for Brown's family condemned the announcement, calling it a "slap in the face."

After the announcement that no deputies would face criminal charges, Sheriff Wooten said the three deputies still on leave would be disciplined and retrained.

Womble previously said Brown hit officers with his car before they fired at him. But an attorney for the Brown family viewed 18 minutes of body camera footage and said it showed Brown was stationary in his car with his hands on the wheel when he was shot.

Brown's death sparked anger and protests in the community, with calls for the release of the full body camera footage.