"Andrew Brown Jr.'s family has to bury him Monday without knowing exactly why he was killed by law enforcement 12 days ago.

"That's because an unusual law in North Carolina prevents body camera footage from being released without the approval of a judge.

"I've done these cases all across the country. This is the weirdest situation I've ever been in. I don't know why the law was written this poorly," said Bakari Sellers, an attorney for Brown's family and former South Carolina Democratic lawmaker.

"In 2016, North Carolina passed the law—with bipartisan support—that forces people to obtain a court order before law enforcement can release body camera and dash camera footage.

"The intent was to create a neutral arbiter to balance victims' and the public's right for transparency with concerns from police. But law enforcement experts say the piece of legislation—the only one of its kind in the country—needs to be reformed.

"'The current law is creating more problems than it's solving,' North Carolina Democratic state Rep. Amos Quick told VICE News. 'We see with all these obstacles that have been put in place there's no transparency at all. It's bred suspicions that authorities are hiding something and that some nefarious things are going on.'"