A judge has ordered the release of the body camera footage and surveillance video of a shooting at an Alabama mall, granting the request of the attorney of the man who has been accused in the shooting.
According to AL.com, Jefferson County District Judge William A. Bell Jr. issued a brief order granting a request from the lawyer for Erron Martez Dequan Brown, who is charged with the attempted murder of a teenager at the Riverchase Galleria Mall on Thanksgiving night.
Late Tuesday, attorney Charles Salvagio, who is representing 20-year-old Brown, filed a routine discovery motion along with a special request for all video evidence. Bell granted the motion on Wednesday, during Brown’s first court appearance.
“I asked for all bodycams; I asked for all video of the scene,” Salvagio said during a Wednesday press conference. But the D.A.’s office... has this case and they have always been fair with me and I believe they gon’ give me everything they got.
“They don’t have it,” explained Salvagio. “ALEA [The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency] has it. They have not finished their investigation yet.”
Salvagio went on to say that he believed the video would show that his client was not the instigator of the event. Although he would not say who started the brawl that turned deadly, he insinuated that at least two of the parties involved knew each other and the fight would have happened anywhere but “somebody wanted it to happen at the Galleria.”
Salvagio said that he hasn’t been given a timeline for the release of the video, but stated that he wouldn’t likely receive it until ALEA finished their investigation. However, the attorney assured the press that his client would be exonerated.
“He’s not guilty, period,” Salvagio said. “I can’t wait to see the video.”
Protesters in the area have been calling for the city of Hoover and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency to release footage of the incident since Emantic Bradford Jr. was killed by a police officer.
Law enforcement officials initially accused Bradford of opening fire in the mall before changing their story and accusing Brown. Brown was captured a week after the incident at a relative’s home just outside of Atlanta, Ga.