A medical examiner determined that Emantic “EJ” Bradford Jr. was shot three times by a police officer while running away. Bradford was licensed to carry a concealed weapon. A newly released video appears to confirm that Bradford was running away when he was shot and killed in the Riverchase Galleria Mall on Nov. 22, 2018.
Still, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall absolved the police officer of any criminal responsibility in the death of 21-year-old Emantic Bradford Jr. The conclusion of the 24-page report (pdf) from Marshall read:
Officer 1 reasonably exercised his official duties, powers, or functions when he shot E.J. Bradford on the night of November 22, 2018. Accordingly, Alabama law declares his action “justified and not criminal.” Ala. Code § 13A-3-22. Because Officer 1 did not commit a crime under Alabama law, Rule 3.8(1)(a) of the Alabama Rules of Professional Conduct dictates that the Attorney General “shall refrain” from seeking criminal charges against Officer 1.
The report noted that the officers were in no danger but added that “Officer 1 identified E.J. Bradford as an immediate deadly threat to innocent civilians and thus shot Bradford to eliminate the threat.”
The attorney general explains that Brown is seen in the video chambering a round as people flee, adding that “within the next 1-2 seconds, Officer 1 shoots Bradford, who falls to the ground and slides forward, having been killed by a catastrophic wound to the head.”
The investigation also revealed that the officer who killed Bradford “believed” Bradford was the initial shooter and that Bradford was going to shoot someone else, although he had no evidence to support those beliefs. It turns out that the Hoover police officer was wrong. But even though the officer who killed Bradford was mistaken, Marshall’s determination explains:
The fact that Officer 1 mistakenly believed that E.J. Bradford fired the initial two shots that injured Brian Wilson does not render his actions unreasonable for two reasons. First, a reasonable person could have assumed that the only person with a gun who was running toward the victim of a shooting that occurred just three seconds earlier fired the shots.
Marshall said it was “his understanding” that the FBI had also reviewed the case and would not file charges. After the decision was announced, the Bradford family attorney, Ben Crump, revealed that the family will be filing a wrongful death suit.
“Attorney, I want to know if that was your child, would you consider this justice?” asked Bradford’s mother, April Pipkins, reports WVTM. “Does anybody consider this justice? You shoot my child three times and y’all call that justice?”
There is no justice for a black man in America.
There is no justice for a black man in America.
There is no justice for a black man in America.
View the surveillance video below: