WBHM
Protesters at a Walmart in Hoover chanted “no justice no peace” one night last month as they approached the entrance. There have been several similar demonstrations in the wake of the fatal police shooting of a black man at the Galleria mall on Thanksgiving. At one of those demonstrations, police arrested protest leader Carlos Chaverst. They charged him with disorderly conduct and loitering for wearing a mask. It’s one of the more antiquated laws in Alabama. Over the last decade or so there have been numerous challenges to mask laws across, and many states have added the language “intent to intimidate.” But Alabama’s law includes no such language. Read more.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall was criticized for taking over the case of the shooting death of a black man by police, but his office says intervening in cases held by local district attorneys is common.

“We regularly assume prosecution of cases in which the local district attorney has a conflict and that has included officer-involved shootings,” Joy Patterson, a spokeswoman for the attorney general, said this week. “Since Attorney General Marshall was sworn in, the attorney general’s office has handled nearly 90 cases for district attorneys.”

Marshall, a former district attorney, became attorney general in February 2017 and was elected to a full term in November.

State law says the attorney general may at any time “superintend and direct the prosecution of any criminal case in any of the courts of this state.”

But there was outcry last week when Marshall, citing a conflict of interest for District Attorney Danny Carr, announced his office would handle the probe into Emantic “E.J.” Bradford Jr.’s death. Bradford, who was armed, was killed by police who were responding to another shooting at the Galleria Riverchase mall in Hoover on Thanksgiving night. Weeks of public protest followed.

Bradford’s family, protestors and some elected officials have said the case should have been left with newly elected Carr. He’s the first black district attorney in Jefferson County.

“The first time we elect a black district attorney, he gets the first high-profile case taken away from him,” state Rep. John Rogers, D-Birmingham, said this week.
Read more.

Protests in Hoover over the police shooting of E.J. Bradford have been suspended after protestors and city officials reached agreement on several steps aimed at improving race relations in the city, protest leaders announced during a press conference Wednesday.

Birmingham Justice League member Iva Williams said the protests will be suspended as long as Hoover officials move forward in good faith with measures on which both sides agreed during a meeting Monday.

Hoover city administrator Allan Rice, however, told the Hoover Sun that, while both sides met and discussed next steps, the city did not commit to specific actions. Read more.

Hoover Balances Response to the Shooting, Need for Long-Term Strategy

Hoover city officials have not been reacting just to the violence at the Riverchase Galleria on Thanksgiving night and the protests that followed, they said, the incident also has brought to the forefront a longstanding need to look at issues of inclusion in the growing city.

The efforts to include minority voices in each phase of government and assure equity for all citizens began months back and “will continue regardless of the outcome of the state investigation of the shooting,” said Hoover city administrator Allan Rice. “This incident has compelled us to.”
Read more.

‘Justice for EJ’ Protesters Are Organized and in It for the Long Haul

Within a day after Emantic Fitzgerald “E.J.” Bradford Jr. was shot three times and killed by a Hoover police officer, Carlos Chaverst started making plans to speak out against the circumstances of his death. He announced plans through Facebook to protest at the Riverchase Galleria, where Bradford was killed.

The event posting included details that explained to anyone who planned to join the protest what they might expect. Warning that there would be likely arrests, the event page advised anyone who had outstanding warrants or who wasn’t in a position to take the risk of begin arrested to “step back when the cops say step back.” His posting also warned that people could be physically hurt during the protest.

Almost every day since, protests have taken place – from calling for a boycott of Hoover businesses, gathering to block roads and highways, speaking at City Council meetings, protesting at Hoover-area shops and the home of Hoover’s mayor, and holding a candlelight vigil and a “die-in” at the location in the Galleria where Bradford was killed. The protesters have applied continual pressure through protests, press conferences, social media and interviews.

Chaverst and Justice for EJ co-leader Le’Darius Hilliard began the protests spontaneously after the incident occurred, but they did not come as much out of the blue as they appeared. Read more.

Bradford Family Wants Jefferson County DA to Handle Shooting Case

The lawyer for the family of Emantic “EJ” Bradford Jr. says State Attorney General Steve Marshall did not follow the normal process when he took over the fatal shooting case from Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr. Read more.

The controversy over the police shooting of a black man at the Riverchase Galleria on Thanksgiving night is not going away anytime soon, city officials and leaders of the protest agree.

Both sides say they are in the conversation to make long-range changes in race relations in the city.
Tuesday night offered a reprieve in protests in the city after protestors met during the day with Mayor Frank Brocato and city administrator Allan Rice. The two sides found common ground on some issues and intend to continue discussions, WBRC reported.

Hoover Balances Response to the Shooting, Need for Long-Term Strategy

Hoover city officials have not been reacting just to the violence at the Riverchase Galleria on Thanksgiving night and the protests that followed, they said, the incident also has brought to the forefront a longstanding need to look at issues of inclusion in the growing city.
The efforts to include minority voices in each phase of government and assure equity for all citizens began months back and “will continue regardless of the outcome of the state investigation of the shooting,” said Hoover city administrator Allan Rice. “This incident has compelled us to.”
Read more.

‘Justice for EJ’ Protesters Are Organized and in It for the Long Haul

Hoover city officials have not been reacting just to the violence at the Riverchase Galleria on Thanksgiving night and the protests that followed, they said, the incident also has brought to the forefront a longstanding need to look at issues of inclusion in the growing city.
The efforts to include minority voices in each phase of government and assure equity for all citizens began months back and “will continue regardless of the outcome of the state investigation of the shooting,” said Hoover city administrator Allan Rice. “This incident has compelled us to.” Read more.

Bradford Family Wants Jefferson County DA to Handle Shooting Case

The lawyer for the family of Emantic “EJ” Bradford Jr. says State Attorney General Steve Marshall did not follow the normal process when he took over the fatal shooting case from Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr. Read more.

The lawyer for the family of Emantic “EJ” Bradford Jr. says State Attorney General Steve Marshall did not follow the normal process when he took over the fatal shooting case from Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr. Read more.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey pledged Monday that information about the shooting death of an armed man by police would be made public, but she urged patience.

“This is a very serious situation going on in Alabama right now,” Ivey said in a statement to BirminghamWatch. “The State Bureau of Investigation is in charge of the homicide investigation and I trust their report will shed light on what really happened. We have to allow them time to gather all the information and I assure you, when their investigation is complete, the truth will come out.”

The is no specific timeline for state law enforcement to complete its inquiry into the death of Emantic “EJ” Bradford Jr., 21. Video of the shooting likely won’t be released until the investigation is done. Meanwhile, at least one state lawmaker has asked for its release, along with more information, to the public.

Bradford’s is the 13th police-involved fatal shooting in the state this year, according to The Washington Post. Since 2015, Alabama has had a total of 80 fatal shootings by law enforcement, the Post’s database shows.

Public protests followed in the two weeks after Bradford’s death and more are planned.

“The best thing we can do is wait for all the facts to come out, and that takes time,” state Rep. Allen Treadaway, R-Morris, said Monday. “Let the facts lead to the conclusion.”

Treadaway is the assistant police chief in Birmingham and chairman of the Alabama House’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee.

“We just ask that people be calm and allow this process to work out,” Treadaway said. Read more.