ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. – Police departments across the U.S. — including in large cities such as New York and Denver — strictly limit shooting at moving vehicles because they consider the practice ineffective and not worth the risk to human life.
But dozens of shootings still occur each year — with deadly results — because many departments continue to give officers too much leeway to open fire, according to groups advocating for stricter policies.
Last month, sheriff’s deputies fatally shot an unarmed Black man in his car as he appeared to drive away in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.
The deputies were cleared Tuesday by a prosecutor who said that Andrew Brown Jr. was using his BMW as a “deadly weapon.” Police-reform advocates say officers