3 Atlantic City cops cleared in fatal shooting of suspect

Grand jury declines to indict in the lethal shooting of Shawn Brown in September 2014

MAYS LANDING -- A grand jury declined to indict three Atlantic City police officers involved in the fatal shooting of a city man a year ago, the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office said in a statement Tuesday.

RELATED: Cops didn't call for help soon enough after shooting, suit alleges 

Shawn Brown, 20, was shot by plainclothes detectives Sept. 9, 2014, after police received a 911 call of shots fired as well as alerts from a ShotSpotter detector near Rt. 30 and Pennsylvania Avenue, the prosecutor's office said. Eleven shots had been fired in four seconds, according to ShotSpotter recordings cited by the prosecutor's office, which investigated the incident.

The detectives' names were not released. 

A still from surveillance video shows an armed Shawn Brown, 20, minutes before he was shot and killed by police in Atlantic City last year, the Atlantic County Proseuctor's Office said. (Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office)  

Authorities say Brown ran from the arriving detectives, pulling a silver handgun from his waistband as he fled down George Avenue and ignoring police as they repeatedly ordered him to drop the weapon. Detectives exited their vehicle with their weapons drawn as Brown ran on to Drexel Avenue, then one of them fired four to seven shots when Brown aimed his weapon at them, the prosecutor's office said.

Brown dropped the gun and collapsed, but attempted to rise, and when he ignored instructions to be still, two of the detectives opened fire again. The two detectives fired a total of 10 rounds, including the initial discharge, authorities also said.

Brown, who had been shot three times and was found in possession of 40 bags of heroin, died at the Atlantic City Medical Center.

During the investigation, authorities retrieved surveillance video from a Boys and Girls Club on N. Pennsylvania Avenue showing Brown, wearing an LA Dodgers cap, holding a gun shortly before the shooting, the prosecutor's office also said.

Brown's family filed a lawsuit earlier this month alleging police delayed in calling for medical help after the shooting. An ambulance arrived at the scene at 1:04 p.m., about seven minutes after police fired their first shot, the prosecutor's office said Tuesday. 

Paul Milo may be reached at pmilo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @PaulMilo2. FindNJ.com on Facebook