Robert Lee Brown

The Washington Post's Fatal Force database records Robert Lee Brown in a fatal on-duty police shooting on 2016-09-07 in Albany, GA. Individual circumstances and legal outcome require case-specific review.

What happened

Robert Lee Brown, 55, died after Albany, Georgia police officer Derrick Williams shot him on September 7, 2016, outside Brown's home on South Madison Street. Williams was responding around 5 a.m. to a report that someone was placing objects in the roadway. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation reported that Brown attacked Williams with a sharp object and wounded his shoulder. Williams then fired his weapon. Brown's death certificate later showed that the fatal bullet entered his back, a fact that prompted demands for answers from Brown's family, including his sister Gussie Reed. The GBI investigated, and Dougherty County District Attorney Greg Edwards referred the evidence to a civil grand jury. In December 2016, that grand jury recommended no charges, finding the officer's actions justified; Edwards agreed and announced Williams would not be prosecuted. Brown's relatives challenged the fairness of the process. The finding was a prosecutorial decision, not a judicial trial of the shooting.

Investigation & findings

Individual legal and investigative outcome not yet reviewed.

What happened

Investigation & findings

Sources & records