BOLIVIA — The state has concluded its investigation into a Brunswick County Sheriff’s deputy after a federal child pornography investigation ended with the death of a suspect in March.
In early March, the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office assisted Homeland Security investigators in serving a federal search warrant on Bradley Barrett Lewis of Ash, North Carolina.
The Department of Homeland Security was investigating Lewis for direct downloads of child pornography at his residence. Before the warrant could be served and the residence searched, Lewis was injured by a gunshot wound to the head.
According to initial reports, the shooting took place at Lewis’ residence. Lewis died several days later at Grand Strand Memorial Hospital.
Major Laurie Watson was initially placed on administrative leave. Watson was quickly cleared of wrongdoing by the Sheriff’s Office, however, protocol required an investigation into the deputy’s discharge of a firearm. After concluding that investigation, the State Bureau of Investigation delivered its findings to the office of District Attorney Jon David.
The SBI report provides a clearer timeline of what happened on Tuesday, March 7. The report also affirms Brunswick County’s finding that Watson acted appropriately. According to the SBI, Lewis was killed by a round fired from his own weapon; Watson’s round did not strike Lewis or anyone else. The SBI found that, given the risk Lewis posed to Watson and other officers, her actions were “reasonable, rational and justified.”
No charges will be filed against Watson. All charges against Lewis have been “abated by his death,” according to the District Attorney’s release.
SBI’s report
This is a summary of the events leading to Lewis’s death, according the David’s office. It includes more specific details about the events leading to the shooting than previously release:
“In the early morning hours of March 7th officers responded to the home of Mr. Lewis in an effort to serve the search warrant, however he had already departed for work. Officers attempted to locate Mr. Lewis at this place of employment and encountered Mr. Lewis in the parking lot of his employer and informed him of the search warrant.
“Mr. Lewis, who was not under arrest, voluntarily left his place of work and traveled toward his residence in his personal vehicle with officers following close behind. As Lewis approached his residence, he observed several law enforcement officers standing near his driveway, causing Lewis to stop his vehicle in the roadway. At that time, Watson and HSI approached Lewis’s vehicle on foot, eventually ending up on the driver’s side of Lewis’s vehicle. Watson asked Lewis to pull his vehicle forward, but he did not do so.
“During a verbal exchange between Lewis and Watson, Lewis admitted to having a firearm in his vehicle. Major Watson then asked Mr. Lewis to place his hands on the steering wheel, which Lewis initially did, only to remove his hands soon thereafter. When Major Watson again asked that Lewis place his hands on the steering wheel, Lewis hunched over and reached toward his front waistband. Lewis drew a handgun from the area of his waistband and raised the firearm with his right hand.
“At that time, Major Watson drew her BCSO issued duty weapon. Several officers observed Lewis raise the firearm with his right hand, place the firearm to the right side of Lewis’s head, and fire a single round from his weapon. Fearing for her own safety, as well as the safety of the HSI officer, Major Watson fired a single shot from her own firearm. Multiple officers would later state that the two shots occurred “almost simultaneously.” Lewis suffered a single gunshot wound to the head and died in the hospital several days later,” the District Attorney’s office reported in a release.
