Photo from Facebook video of the press conference in Montgomery, Alabama
NAACP ACLU 2-20-19
Randall Marshall, executive director of the ACLU of Alabama, (at right), and Patricia Mokolo, director of communications for the NAACP Alabama chapter (center), on Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019, join attorney Benjamin Crump in calling for the release of all records and videos related to the investigation of the shooting of Emantic "E.J." Bradford Jr. at the Riverchase Galleria in Hoover, Alabama, on Thanksgiving night 2018.
The NAACP and ACLU today joined the family of Emantic “E.J.” Bradford Jr. in calling for the Alabama attorney general and Hoover Police Department to release all records and videos related to the fatal shooting of Bradford at the Riverchase Galleria on Thanksgiving night.
Randall Marshall, the executive director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama, during a press conference in Montgomery, called for the release of all video footage and all records reviewed by the attorney general’s office before determining that no charges would be filed against the Hoover police officer who shot and killed Bradford.
Marshall said the ACLU also wants the attorney general’s office to release all records related to his decision to remove the case from the Jefferson County district attorney, who was the first African-American district attorney elected in Jefferson County.
That decision was highly unusual and, when combined with a decision not to present charges for a grand jury to review, raises serious questions of law enforcement accountability in Alabama, Marshall said.
“There is a strong public interest in the release of this information,” he said.
Patricia Mokolo, communications director for the Alabama chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, echoed the call for the release of the information.
She noted that it is legal to carry guns openly in Alabama, as Bradford was doing that night. But there is still a stigma of being black in Alabama, Mokolo said. “lt is heartbreaking to realize that this country refuses to address this issue.”
Carlos Chaverst Jr., president of the Birmingham Justice League, said Bradford had a right to bear arms and to defend himself that night and did not deserve to be shot and killed by the police officer.
Ben Crump, an attorney for the family of Bradford, said authorities have confirmed that police gave no verbal warnings for Bradford to drop his weapon before one of the officers shot him.
The Hoover Police Department should take full responsibility in providing all video footage related to the mall shooting and release the name of the officer who shot Bradford, Mokolo said.
Marshall said the officer was acting in his official capacity when he fired the shots at Bradford and there is no privacy interest in keeping his name hidden from the public.
Crump said Bradford’s family, the NAACP and ACLU will give the attorney general and Hoover Police Department 10 days to release the requested information before they take legal action to obtain it and possible other legal action.
“What this really is about is trust,” Crump said. “There is great mistrust between communities of color and law enforcement.”
There must be transparency and accountability to bridge the great divide of mistrust, he said.
The attorney general’s office released a statement this afternoon, saying the attorney general on Feb. 5 released photographs, two surveillance videos and a detailed 24-page report regarding the shooting of Bradford. The amount of information shared at that time was consistent with state ethics rules and advice from the Alabama State Bar, the statement said.
“The same rules and advice limit the attorney general’s ability to disclose further information pending resolution of the case against Erron Brown,” who was charged with attempted murder in the shooting of 18-year-old Brian Wilson at the mall that happened just seconds before a police officer shot Bradford, the attorney general’s statement said. “The attorney general will review the ACLU’s request for additional information and respond in due course.”
Melanie Posey, a spokeswoman for the city of Hoover, said the Hoover Police Department is cooperating with records requests previously submitted to the city by the ACLU and NAACP. "The Hoover Police Department will review the new request for additional information received today and respond in due course," Posey said.
This story was updated at 2:29 p.m. with a response from the attorney general's office and at 3:43 p.m. with a response from the city of Hoover.
See more stories about the Riverchase Galleria shooting here.
