Posted on 02/05/2019 11:26:15 AM PST by MacNaughton
A Hoover police officer was justified in fatally shooting Emantic Fitzgerald “EJ” Bradford Jr. Thanksgiving night inside the Riverchase Galleria, state officials announced today.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall today shared a report following a more than two-month investigation into 21-year-old Bradford’s death.
The report also detailed the investigation into the gunfire inside the mall that injured 18-year-old Brian Wilson and 12-year-old bystander Molly Davis moments before Hoover police killed Bradford. Erron Brown, 20, is charged with attempted murder in the shooting of Wilson.
(Excerpt) Read more at al.com ...
Oh sh*t.
I work with a guy who’s related to Bradford.
It was going to be determined a good shoot no matter what transpired.
I’ve told my daughters if they’re out stopped at a red light and a “protest” starts banging on their cars, that their vehicles can handle speed bumps.
Told my kid (who’s at school there) basically the same.
Yup. As predictable as the sun rising in the east.
If it's too difficult for a cop to restrain from opening fire on somebody before assessing the situation, then find another line of work. There are people known to legally carry a concealed firearm.
The culture of training police to immediately open fire at the mere sight of a firearm must, and will change.
I'm sorry if real decisions must be made by cops, but that's why they are PAID PROFESSIONALS.
After watching the crappy surveillance video I would say it isn’t clear what happened. :-)
Do you think it might not have been a good idea for Bradford to pull out his weapon and run full speed toward the original victim?
As a CCW carrier you need to use common sense, especially when you KNOW that police are on the scene.
I agree. See post # 10
“Do you think it might not have been a good idea for Bradford to pull out his weapon and run full speed toward the original victim?”
In an active shooter situation in a mall one has to know that police will be there or will soon be there and it is probably not a good idea to be waving a gun around.
Apparently the mall also has a no firearms policy and full time police presence.
Also seems odd that there is barely a mention of the 12 yr old White girl shot in the back.
Watch the video again. The victim was running away from the officers. I know the testimony said he was running towards the officers, but the video shows Wilson was running away from the two officers. Their lives were not in immediate danger, but there was a black man with a gun in their field of view, and that was apparently enough to justify pulling the trigger.
As a CCW carrier you need to use common sense, especially when you KNOW that police are on the scene.
Absolutely, and were it me I wouldn't have been running around with my weapon drawn. I carry to protect myself and my family, not everyone else around me.
That still doesn't excuse the reflex taught to those officers to shoot upon the sight of a weapon, regardless of whether the weapon is being used in a threatening manner or not.
As I said, officers are professionals who are paid to make the tough decisions, not to be proficient in hitting center of mass upon the command "GUN!"
Did you happen to notice that just about everyone in the mall is black?
How about this?
Immediately upon hearing shots fired nearby the officers observed a man brandishing a firearm as he was sprinting full speed towards the wounded victim(s).
I posted this on the other thread running on this. Mind you I do not know the particulars of this situation.
I do not know the particulars of this case, but the scenario has worried me for quite some time.
We all speak of carrying to defend ourselves and our families (and rightfully so). What concerns me lately is officer response.
For instance, if any of us were in a mall with our family and a gunman started tearing up the place, we would draw our weapon for defense. Immediately after we now become a possible suspect when the officers enter the area.
If I truly have the right to defend myself, how then could the officer mistakenly identifying me as the threat, shoot me and it be justified? (Not that it is what happened in this case, just theoretically?)
I fear that we are getting to a place where officers are not required to adequately determine threat before firing, or better said, the mere sight of a firearm is justification in shooting. As a ardent 2nd amendment supporter, I find the mere sight of a gun not enough justification for a shooting.
Immediately upon hearing shots fired nearby the officers observed a man brandishing a firearm as he was sprinting full speed towards the wounded victim(s).
Exactly. The officers heard shots fired, saw a man running with a gun, and they shot him. Shot him in the back, according to the security video.
The officers did NOT OBSERVE the victim shooting anyone.
The officers did NOT OBSERVE the victim discharge his weapon at all.
The officers did NOT OBSERVE the victim point his weapon at the officers or anyone else in a threatening manner.
They heard shots, they saw a man with a gun, and they shot him.
Read the AG’s report linked in post # 6.
https://ago.alabama.gov/Documents/news/Hoover/Report.pdf
I have read the report. In it, the AG says:
Officer 1 and his partner (“Officer 2”) were on duty in the Galleria when they heard two gunshots approximately 75 feet away.Officers 1 and 2 immediately moved toward the gunshots. Within three seconds, they encountered E.J. Bradford, who held a firearm in a ready position, then charged forward:
Several persons were in Bradford’s path. Immediately before him, Brian Wilson lay on the ground, bleeding from his gunshot wounds, and 18-year-old (“AC”) stood over Wilson. Beyond them, Erron Brown (the initial shooter) and his companions were running into JC Penney, while several innocent bystanders were scrambling for cover:
Officer 1 identified E.J. Bradford as an immediate deadly threat to innocent civilians and thus shot Bradford to eliminate the threat.
Clearly, as we know, officer 1 misidentified Bradford as an immediate deadly threat. Officer 1 did not assess the situation beyond hearing shots, seeing a gun, and seeing a man running.
What facts do you dispute? One fact I dispute is that Bradford was not standing over Wilson when he was shot. The security videos clearly show that he was running in a direction away from the officers.
I understand that it was not an easy situation to be in, but that is why we hire and train these men and women to be professionals, and to make the hard assessments. Officer 1 did not make an assessment, he made an assumption.
I am not anti-cop. Far from it. But I am anti-automatic shooting of a man with a gun.
And?
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