Alabama Police Shot Legal Gun Carrying Citizen Three Times In The Back During Mall Shooting Flub, According To Autopsy
An Alabama police officer shot a legal gun carrying citizen in the back three times during a mall shooting in Alabama, according to findings from an autopsy report.
Examination of 21-year-old Emantic Fitzgerald Bradford Jr.’s body shows that he was shot in the back of his head, neck and back, according to The New York Times. Findings of the autopsy were announced in a Monday press conference, the NYT reported.
Authorities shot and killed Bradford on Nov. 22 during a shooting at Riverchase Galleria near Birmingham. A gunman entered the mall and shot an 18-year-old man and 12-year-old girl, according to Hoover Police Captain Gregg Rector.
Alabama police initially maintained Bradford was the shooter, before admitting on Nov. 23 he was not the gunman who perpetrated the attack. “New evidence now suggests that while Mr. Bradford may have been involved in some aspect of the altercation, he likely did not fire the rounds that injured the 18-year-old victim,” the Hoover Police Department said in a statement.
Protesters marched in Alabama on Nov. 23 and 24 to demand answers after police confessed that they killed the wrong man.
Police later arrested 20-year-old Erron Martez Dequan Brown and charged him with attempted murder, according to TheNYT.
Gunman killed during Black Friday sales at Alabama mall. https://t.co/S1WiexgK1j pic.twitter.com/UvjBw0acGV
— NBC News (@NBCNews) November 23, 2018
Witnesses claim Bradford held a gun and was helping shoppers get to safety when he was shot, The NYT reported.
“While we maintain our commitment to be fully transparent during this process, we must respect the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s request for full cooperation and continue to have faith in the judicial process,” Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis said in a Monday statement, according to The NYT. “We want the whole truth, unimpeded and not delayed.”
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“Until the tapes are released, it’s a cover-up,” Rev. Jesse Jackson said at a Monday news conference. Alabama police have not released the video of the shooting, maintaining that it would potentially compromise the integrity of the investigation, according to The NYT.
Bradford had trained with the military but was discharged from the U.S. Army in August before completing his training, according to reports.
“All of these shots were potentially kill shots,” said the Bradford family’s lawyer Benjamin Crump.
Crump is a national civil rights attorney who represented Trayvon Martin’s family after the 17-year-old’s passing in 2012.
The National Rifle Association did not respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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