ROXBORO — Footage from a dashboard camera shows a black man shot and killed by police in the Roxboro appears to have pointed a gun at an officer.
Release of the footage on Wednesday comes hours after officials in Roxboro declared a state of emergency and enacted a curfew for portions of the city following the shooting of David Brooks Jr., 45, last Friday.
The 46-second video opens with a view of Brooks standing alongside a road, holding a white bag in his left hand. That’s followed by an officer who encounters the man before commanding him to drop the gun. Two voices then are heard telling the man to drop the gun before a shot is fired and Brooks falls to the ground.
Investigators say they found a loaded sawed-off shotgun at the scene, but they haven’t said whether Brooks was carrying the weapon.
Roxboro enacted a curfew on parts of the city beginning Tuesday at 5 p.m. and continuing until 6 a.m. Wednesday, and was to resume on Wednesday at 7 p.m. and last until 6 a.m. Thursday, when officials said it would be rescinded.
The city council voted to enact the curfew after it became aware of an “outside presence” that “may attempt to disrupt” the city, according to the proclamation obtained by WRAL. The proclamation said officials have determined there is an “imminent threat” that could result in “widespread or severe damage” to lives and property.
There have been demonstrations in Roxboro since Friday, the day Brooks died during an officer-involved shooting. On Saturday, police made arrests after a group of nearly 30 people, some armed with incendiary devices, refused to disperse, the city’s police department said in a news release.
Officers had responded to a call about a man wearing a mask and carrying what appeared to be a shotgun walking down U.S. Highway 158, Roxboro Police Chief David Hess said. Brooks was shot in the chest by one officer, Person County District Attorney Mike Waters said, according to The News & Observer of Raleigh.
Brooks was given first aid, but died from the wound to his chest, Waters said. Investigators found a loaded sawed-off shotgun, which is illegal in the state, at the scene of the shooting, Hess said. Authorities have not said whether Brooks had been carrying the weapon.
Two officers have been placed on paid leave as state investigators continue to review what happened during the incident.
Roxboro is about 55 miles northwest of Raleigh.
